Chinese museum reveals new evidence of Japanese Unit 731’s malaria human experiments

A Chinese museum on Thursday released archival records confirming that Japanese army medical personnel conducted human experiments during the invasion of China (1931-1945), deliberately infecting mentally ill patients with malaria through mosquito bites.

The evidence was first uncovered in recent research by Seiya Matsuno, a researcher at Japan’s Meiji Gakuin University's International Peace Research Institute, who traced relevant records to papers published in the official journal of the Japanese Army Medical Corps.

The Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army in Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, unveiled the original journal issue containing the paper on Wednesday, bringing another piece of evidence of atrocious crimes against humanity committed by the Japanese military back to public attention.

The document is Issue 356 of the "Medical Corps Journal", released on January 10, 1943. It contains a research paper titled "Human Inoculation Experiment Using Malaria-Infected Mosquitoes", written by a major in the Japanese Army Medical Corps.

According to the paper, the experiment was conducted at a military hospital in Japan's Chiba Prefecture between May 20 and August 20, 1940, with the stated aim of curbing malaria transmission within Japan.

Researchers first let mosquitoes feed on blood from soldiers who had contracted malaria on the Chinese battlefield, then allowed the infected mosquitoes to bite 10 Japanese soldiers hospitalized for mental illness to observe infection reactions.

"The paper records that the test subjects ran a high fever of over 40 degrees Celsius, and developed symptoms including chills, shivering, general fatigue, anxiety, joint pain in the limbs and loss of appetite," said Tan Tian, a researcher at the exhibition hall.

Further historical verification has confirmed that Unit 731 head Shiro Ishii and other core members of the unit took part in guiding the experiment.

Previous archival materials also show that Unit 731 operated an insect division that carried out field investigations and research on mosquitoes.

"This further proves that Unit 731's insect research and the development of insect-borne bacterial weapons formed a mature system. The system was not only applied within Unit 731, but also implemented in Japan proper. The discovery, sorting, and comprehensive study of this historical material further solidifies the anti-medical, anti-civilization, and anti-ethical nature of Unit 731. It is a crime against humanity — a large-scale, systematic state crime carried out from the top down," said Jin Shicheng, head of publicity, education and exhibition department at the Exhibition Hall.

During World War II, the Japanese invading forces established a germ warfare network across multiple Asian countries, with Unit 731 located in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, serving as a top-secret base for germ weapons and human experimentation.

Chinese museum reveals new evidence of Japanese Unit 731’s malaria human experiments

Chinese museum reveals new evidence of Japanese Unit 731’s malaria human experiments

Rescue operations have been halted at mudslide-hit Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, over a potentially catastrophic barrier-lake breach that threatens to trigger secondary floods and mudslides.

At around 10:30 on Wednesday, a catastrophic mudslide on Nepal's side of the border caused heavy casualties and left a large number of people missing at the border port.

As of 15:00 on Friday, five people had been confirmed dead, and 558 remained missing, according to data from Chinese authorities.

Multiple rescue forces were dispatched to the disaster-hit area immediately after the mudslide. Armed police troops tasked with road clearance advanced to a section of the G216 National Highway, about two to three kilometers away from Gyirong Port, on Friday morning.

However, all rescue operations were suspended because a barrier lake formed after the devastating mudslide poses a high risk of breaching as water continues to flow in.

Aerial footage showed the dangerous barrier lake near the confluence of the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers, with its water volume estimated at 2.5 million cubic meters. Loose, sliding rock masses are visible on both banks.

"My current location is 2.5 kilometers from the Gyirong Port. This area was severely blocked by the mudslide on the previous day. We had originally planned to begin dredging operations today for search and rescue. However, due to flood alerts for the Donglin Zangbo River and the potential risk of a further barrier lake breach, we have suspended all on-site operations to conduct further assessments," said Xu Xingguo, a soldier from a border defense regiment.

Before suspending operations, local authorities completed comprehensive emergency evacuation and resettlement work. A total of 499 villagers and construction personnel from five disaster-threatened villages in Xigaze have been safely relocated.

In addition, all 555 tourists previously staying in Gyirong Town have been evacuated.

A full range of emergency supplies has also been delivered to Gyirong Town to support disaster relief and ensure basic living conditions for the affected people. The supplies include staple foods such as highland barley, rice and flour, cooking oil and drinking water, as well as tents, folding beds, quilts, stoves, generators and other disaster-rescue equipment and daily necessities.

To support post-disaster relief and assistance, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions has allocated 4 million yuan (around 595,260 U.S. dollars) in emergency funds to console affected residents, frontline rescuers and workers, and to support ongoing rescue operations and post-disaster recovery work.

Rescue operations halted at Xizang's Gyirong Port over barrier lake breach risk