Episode 52: Unit 731

Today, Jordan talks about Unit 731, which was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal human experimentation during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) of World War II. It was officially known as the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army. Unit 731 and the other units of the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department were biological weapon production, testing, deployment and storage facilities. They routinely conducted tests on human beings. Additionally, the biological weapons were tested in the field on cities and towns in China. Estimates of those killed by Unit 731 and its related programs range up to half a million people. MysteryHistoryPodcast.com Sources: wikipedia.com nytimes.com unit731.org