Barenblatt, Daniel (2004). A Plague upon Humanity: The Secret Genocide of Axis Japan's Germ Warfare Operation (1ed.). New York: Harper. pp. 163–175. ISBN 978-0060186258.

The Chinese prisoner had been deliberately infected with the plague as part of a research project — the full horror of which is only now emerging — to develop plague bombs for use in World War II. After infecting him, the researchers decided to cut him open to see what the disease does to a man's inside. No anesthetic was used, [the former medical assistant] said, out of concern that it might have an effect on the results. Skeleton crews of Ishii's Japanese troops blew up the compound in the final days of the war to destroy evidence of their activities, but many were sturdy enough to remain somewhat intact. After World WarII, the Office of Special Investigations created a watchlist of suspected Axis collaborators and persecutors who are banned from entering the United States. While they have added over 60,000names to the watchlist, they have only been able to identify under 100 Japanese participants. In a 1998 correspondence letter between the DOJ and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Eli Rosenbaum, director of OSI, stated that this was due to two factors: Croddy, Eric; Wirtz, James (2005). Weapons of Mass Destruction: Chemical and biological weapons. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1851094905.

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Division1: research on bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax, typhoid, and tuberculosis using live human subjects; for this purpose, a prison was constructed to contain around three to four hundred people According to A. S. Wells, the majority of victims were Chinese, [32] with a lesser percentage being Russian, Mongolian, and Korean. They may also have included a small number of European, American, Indian, Australian, and New Zealander prisoners of war. [78] [79] [80] A member of the Yokusan Sonendan paramilitary political youth branch, who worked for Unit731, stated that not only were Chinese, Russians, and Koreans present, but also Americans, British, and French people. [81] Sheldon H. Harris documented that the victims were generally political dissidents, communist sympathizers, ordinary criminals, impoverished civilians, and the mentally disabled. [82] Author Seiichi Morimura estimates that almost 70 percent of the victims who died in the Pingfang camp were Chinese (both military and civilian), [83] while close to 30 percent of the victims were Russian. [84] A sketch of the prison cells drawn by a Unit731 staff member. The octagon represents the pressure chamber.

Neuman, William Lawrence (2008). Understanding Research. Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, p. 65. ISBN 0205471536

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ReGenesis episode "Let it burn" (2007). Outbreaks of anthrax and glanders are traced to World WarII Japan. Yoshimura, Hisato; Iida, Toshiyuki (1950). Studies on the Reactivity of Skin Vessels to Extreme Cold. Japan: Japanese Journal Of Physiology. The judge’s comment was, however, consistent with much of the narrative written about Unit 731 after the war, which generally characterizes the group’s activities as “experimental,” a seeming reference to the vivisections conducted by the Japanese doctors. Sometimes the truth is pretty elusive," says Sneider. "To some degree, the goal is not necessarily always to establish 'the fact.' That's a good goal, but it may not be possible. The goal, if you're seeking reconciliation, the goal may be to understand the different perceptions of the other.

As noted earlier, the primary objective of Ishii and Unit 731 was the creation of biological and chemical weapons. To facilitate that end, wholesale human experimentation was utilized, including the vivisection of thousands of people. The justification for performing all these surgeries came from the expectation that human tests would create better weapons. People may not agree on how many people were killed by the criminals in Unit 731, who did it, how it was done, or why it occurred. They can, and should, look critically upon America's decisions after the war, too. While Unit731 researchers arrested by Soviet forces were tried at the December1949 Khabarovsk war crimes trials, those captured by the United States were secretly given immunity in exchange for the data gathered during their human experiments. [6] The United States helped cover up the human experimentations and handed stipends to the perpetrators. [1] The Americans co-opted the researchers' bioweapons information and experience for use in their own biological warfare program, much like what had been done with Nazi German researchers in Operation Paperclip. [7] [8] But the facts are out there for those who seek them. And for those who seek to use them for their own personal reasons. Monchinski, Tony (2008). Critical Pedagogy and the Everyday Classroom. Volumen 3 de Explorations of Educational Purpose. Springer, p. 57. ISBN 1402084625

As atrocities go, or as much as sane human beings can rank them, this doesn’t sound any worse than Nazi experiments. But unlike the Nazis, Imperial Japan actually weaponized its biological horrors. Also in 1981, the first direct testimony of human vivisection in China was given by Ken Yuasa. Since then, much more in depth testimony has been given in Japan. The 2001 documentary Japanese Devils largely consists of interviews with fourteen Unit731 staff members taken prisoner by China and later released. [122] Significance in postwar research on bio-warfare and medicine

Guillemin, Jeanne (2017). "The 1925 Geneva Protocol: China's CBW Charges Against Japan at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal". In Friedrich, Bretislav; Hoffmann, Dieter; Renn, Jürgen; Schmaltz, Florian; Wolf, Martin (eds.). One Hundred Years of Chemical Warfare: Research, Deployment, Consequences. Springer International Publishing. pp.273–286. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-51664-6_15. ISBN 978-3319516646.There is not a lot of detail of the atrocities but enough to visualize. There is too much detail in the minutia of military units, ranks, names, degrees, etc. The most appalling thing I learned was the United States' complicity in none of the leaders of Unit 731 being tried for war crimes. And the leaders on Unit 731 going on to have successful lives and careers built on their crimes during the war. Quite the contrast from Germany. Drea, Edward (2006). Researching Japanese War Crimes (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration for the Nazi Warcrimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group. p.35. Nakagawa Yonezo [ ja], professor emeritus at Osaka University, studied at Kyoto University during the war. While he was there, he watched footage of human experiments and executions from Unit731. He later testified about the playfulness of the experimenters: [25]