Core archives disclose personnel information of Unit 731

An archival collection of over 1,400 pages based on original documents discloses the general sizes, ranks, personnel composition and other details of the notorious Unit 731 and its branch Unit 1885.

The collection unveils "the full picture of this demonic army", according to Yang Yanjun, a researcher at the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army in Harbin.

Previous academic works involving Unit 731 mostly focused on issues such as wartime crimes, war responsibility and post-war damage. However, they often ignored basic historical facts of the unit itself, which were exactly the core supporting points of these issues, Yang noted.

Most of the personnel information of Unit 731 was disclosed for the first time, which offers key evidence to Japan's biological warfare.