A Japanese civil‑society delegation from the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement visited Unit 731 memorial sites in Heilongjiang, China, on Oct. 31 to confront wartime atrocities and demand that Japan face responsibility for the graves of war crimes. The delegation, composed of scholars, journalists, lawyers and civic activists, toured former Unit 731 sites, an exhibition hall depicting evidence of biological warfare and human experiments carried out by the Japanese army during World War II.
During the visit, Shigenori Kanehira, a member of the delegation and veteran Japanese media professional, said that even though he was “already familiar with this history, stepping into these historical sites in person left me even more shocked.” He was echoed by Mitsuhisa Fukutomi, a university professor, who also expressed deep shame and sorrow in seeing the crime scenes up close.
Takakage Fujita, head of the delegation, solemnly condemned the atrocities after viewing the human‑experiment exhibition area. He stated that “the Japanese army’s act of injecting bacteria into living people can only be described as ‘demonic’.”
As a Japanese, I sincerely apologize to the Chinese people who perished in the disaster.
On the sidelines, Fujita warned of a growing tide of revisionism and right‑wing rhetoric in Japan. He noted that from last year, some Japanese politicians have made “absurd and ignorant remarks” aimed at provoking regional conflict, and that the delegation’s visit was a stand against such narratives.
