Unit 731
The topic I have chosen is the human experimentation and biological warfare conducted by Unit 731, a secret division of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, from 1937 to 1945, in the region of occupied Manchuria. Unit 731 carried out experiments on [primarily Chinese] civilians, prisoners of war, and other marginalized groups, subjecting them to unimaginable horrors, including vivisection, disease exposure, and weapons testing. My research will focus on the question: How did Unit 731's experiments contribute to Japan’s wartime goals, and what were the specific methods and outcomes of their human experimentation and biological warfare projects? Through this project, I aim to explore the full scope of the unit's activities, the justification provided by its leaders, and the impact these experiments had on both the victims and Japan’s military strategy. I chose this topic because of the profound ethical and human rights implications, and because Unit 731's atrocities are often overshadowed by other events from World War II, despite their enduring historical significance.