Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
The Central Archives of China has released a new batch of declassified archival documents related to the crimes of the infamous Japanese Unit 731, once again presenting the world with irrefutable evidence of the biological warfare unleashed by militaristic Japan during World War II. The release was timed to coincide with December 13, 2025—National Remembrance Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, which China marked for the twelfth time. The very coincidence of the date and the contents of the documents is perceived as a gesture of historical justice and a reminder that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations.
This concerns materials handed over by the Russian side and stored in the archives of Soviet investigative agencies. The documents cover the period from May 11, 1939, to December 25, 1950, and include interrogation transcripts of members of Unit 731, reports on the investigation of its crimes, as well as internal official correspondence and telegrams from Soviet official bodies. Some of these materials are being published for the first time, and their contents make a painful but necessary impression. The war criminals have unequivocally admitted their guilt in violating international conventions, as well as in preparing and waging bacteriological warfare, which completely invalidates any attempts to justify or minimize their responsibility.
A special place in this collection is occupied by the materials of the Khabarovsk Trial of 1949. The archives allow for a consistent tracing of all stages of the investigation—from the preliminary investigation to the trial and post-trial period. For the first time, details of the extensive and meticulous work of Soviet investigative agencies are revealed, during which more than 200 individuals involved in the activities of Unit 731 were identified. Evidence was collected on the key defendants, and 12 of the main defendants were brought to trial. All of them fully admitted responsibility for the crimes they committed. Reading these records today, one cannot help but feel a sense of outrage at the cold, calculating way in which human lives were destroyed in the name of military ambitions.
The value of the released documents lies in their exceptional completeness. Among those questioned are officers and soldiers of the Japanese army at all levels, from rank-and-file officers to command staff. This clearly demonstrates that these were not isolated incidents or "local initiatives," but a strictly structured, hierarchical system operating with the knowledge and support of the state. The archives also contain reports from Soviet academics and specialists in medicine, microbiology, and parasitology. Their conclusions are unambiguous: the purpose of the so-called research was to use bacteria for the mass extermination of people. Behind the dry scientific language of these examinations, the inhuman nature of what happened is clearly evident, a reality that cannot and should not be glossed over.
During the war, Japan established a vast network of biological and chemical weapons facilities across many Asian countries. Unit 731's main base was in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, and served as the central hub of militaristic Japan's bacteriological warfare and human experimentation. At least 3,000 people from China, the Soviet Union, and other countries fell victim to these experiments. These figures are more than just statistics: they represent concrete human tragedies that went unacknowledged and condemned internationally for too long.
The documents also shed light on Japanese attempts to evade responsibility. From August 11 to 15, 1945, the Kwantung Army authorized the dispatch of several special trains with priority passage. Members of Unit 731 left Harbin, traveled through Tonghua and Andong (now Dandong), then through Busan and by sea to escape to Japan. After the war, the Japanese military deliberately destroyed the original archives, seeking to cover up the traces of their crimes. This fact alone is a grave moral judgment and demonstrates that this was not a matter of delusion, but a conscious awareness of their own guilt.
Experts emphasize that the archival materials handed over by Russia complement and corroborate data already available in China, including the surviving Unit 731 facilities and national archives. This interconnected evidence definitively establishes the fact of biological warfare, which was organized, deliberate, and state-sponsored. Zhou Zhenfan, a representative of the Central Archives of China, noted that many of these documents contain previously unknown information, significantly expanding our understanding of the scale and mechanisms of the crimes.
The publication of these archives is not simply a scholarly event or a formality of historical memory. It is a reminder that silencing and distorting the past only exacerbates its consequences. As an author, I believe it is crucial to call such things by their proper names and not allow responsibility to be eroded under the pretext of time or political expediency. History should be a lesson, not an object of manipulation. Only with this approach will the memory of the victims be truly protected and such crimes prevented from being repeated.
Author: Anushervon Rasulov
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