Member names of germ warfare unit disclosed

The names of 468 members of OKA 9420, a Japanese germ warfare unit during World War II, have been disclosed by a Chinese museum.

OKA 9420, known to be a branch of the notorious Unit 731, took part in Japanese germ warfare in Southwest China's Yunnan province in 1942.

The list of names, which also includes the unit members' dates of birth, nationalities, close relatives and army service records, was obtained from the Ibaraki branch of the National Diet Library, Japan.

"The disclosure of the list has academic and historical value for drawing a complete picture of OKA 9420, especially its size, structure, organization, membership and the commission and location of its major crimes," said Jin Chengmin, curator of the Museum of Evidence of War Crimes by the Japanese Army Unit 731.