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Japan and weapons of mass destruction
Beginning in the mid-1930s, Japan conducted numerous attempts to acquire and develop weapons of mass destruction. The 1943 Battle of Changde saw Japanese use of both bioweapons and chemical weapons, and the Japanese conducted a serious, though futile, nuclear weapon program.
Since World War II, the United States military based nuclear and chemical weapons and field tested biological anti-crop weapons in Japan.
Japan has since become a nuclear-capable state, said to be a "screwdriver's turn" away from nuclear weapons; having the capacity, the know-how, and the materials to make a nuclear bomb. Japan has consistently eschewed any desire to have nuclear weapons, and no mainstream Japanese party has ever advocated acquisition of nuclear weapons or any weapons of mass destruction. There are controversies on whether such weapons are forbidden by the Japanese constitution or not. Japan has signed many treaties prohibiting these kinds of weapons.
Japan is the only nation that has been attacked with atomic weapons. Prior to 1946 Japan carried out many attacks using weapons of mass destruction (chemical and biological), principally in China. In 1995, members of the Japanese religious cult Aum Shinrikiyo released chemical weapons in Tokyo in a domestic terror attack.
Japan became interested in obtaining biological weapons during the early 1930s. Following the international ban on germ warfare in interstate conflicts by the 1925 Geneva Protocol, Japan reasoned that disease epidemics must make effective weapons. Japan developed new methods of biological warfare (BW) and used them on a large scale in China. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and World War II, Unit 731 and other Special Research Units of the Imperial Japanese Army conducted human experimentation on thousands, mostly Chinese, Korean, Russian, and other nationalities, mainly across Asia (Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Filipinos, etc), as well as some American, British and Dutch POWs and Japanese criminals from the Japanese mainlands. In military campaigns, the Japanese army used biological weapons on Chinese soldiers and civilians.
Japan's infamous biological warfare Unit 731 was led by Lt. General Shirō Ishii. Unit 731 used plague-infected fleas and flies covered with cholera to infect the population in China. The Japanese military dispersed insects by spraying them from low-flying airplanes and dropping ceramic bombs they had developed that were filled with mixtures containing insects and diseases that could affect humans, animals, and crops. Localized and deadly epidemics resulted, and an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 Chinese died of disease. Recent additional firsthand accounts testify the Japanese infected civilians through the distribution of plague-infested foodstuffs, such as dumplings and vegetables. During the Changde chemical weapon attacks, the Japanese also employed biological warfare by intentionally spreading infected fleas. In Zhejiang Province cholera, dysentery, and typhoid were employed. Harbin also suffered Japanese biological attacks. Other battles include the Kaimingye germ weapon attack in Ningbo.
Japan sent a submarine with unspecified biological weapons early in 1944 to defend the island of Saipan from American invasion; however the submarine was sunk.
Another attack against American troops with biological weapons was planned for the invasion of Iwo Jima. The plan involved towing gliders laden with pathogens over the American lines. However, this plan never took shape. Had it succeeded, thousands of American soldiers and marines may have died, and the operation as a whole may very well have failed.
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Japan and weapons of mass destruction
Beginning in the mid-1930s, Japan conducted numerous attempts to acquire and develop weapons of mass destruction. The 1943 Battle of Changde saw Japanese use of both bioweapons and chemical weapons, and the Japanese conducted a serious, though futile, nuclear weapon program.
Since World War II, the United States military based nuclear and chemical weapons and field tested biological anti-crop weapons in Japan.
Japan has since become a nuclear-capable state, said to be a "screwdriver's turn" away from nuclear weapons; having the capacity, the know-how, and the materials to make a nuclear bomb. Japan has consistently eschewed any desire to have nuclear weapons, and no mainstream Japanese party has ever advocated acquisition of nuclear weapons or any weapons of mass destruction. There are controversies on whether such weapons are forbidden by the Japanese constitution or not. Japan has signed many treaties prohibiting these kinds of weapons.
Japan is the only nation that has been attacked with atomic weapons. Prior to 1946 Japan carried out many attacks using weapons of mass destruction (chemical and biological), principally in China. In 1995, members of the Japanese religious cult Aum Shinrikiyo released chemical weapons in Tokyo in a domestic terror attack.
Japan became interested in obtaining biological weapons during the early 1930s. Following the international ban on germ warfare in interstate conflicts by the 1925 Geneva Protocol, Japan reasoned that disease epidemics must make effective weapons. Japan developed new methods of biological warfare (BW) and used them on a large scale in China. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and World War II, Unit 731 and other Special Research Units of the Imperial Japanese Army conducted human experimentation on thousands, mostly Chinese, Korean, Russian, and other nationalities, mainly across Asia (Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Filipinos, etc), as well as some American, British and Dutch POWs and Japanese criminals from the Japanese mainlands. In military campaigns, the Japanese army used biological weapons on Chinese soldiers and civilians.
Japan's infamous biological warfare Unit 731 was led by Lt. General Shirō Ishii. Unit 731 used plague-infected fleas and flies covered with cholera to infect the population in China. The Japanese military dispersed insects by spraying them from low-flying airplanes and dropping ceramic bombs they had developed that were filled with mixtures containing insects and diseases that could affect humans, animals, and crops. Localized and deadly epidemics resulted, and an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 Chinese died of disease. Recent additional firsthand accounts testify the Japanese infected civilians through the distribution of plague-infested foodstuffs, such as dumplings and vegetables. During the Changde chemical weapon attacks, the Japanese also employed biological warfare by intentionally spreading infected fleas. In Zhejiang Province cholera, dysentery, and typhoid were employed. Harbin also suffered Japanese biological attacks. Other battles include the Kaimingye germ weapon attack in Ningbo.
Japan sent a submarine with unspecified biological weapons early in 1944 to defend the island of Saipan from American invasion; however the submarine was sunk.
Another attack against American troops with biological weapons was planned for the invasion of Iwo Jima. The plan involved towing gliders laden with pathogens over the American lines. However, this plan never took shape. Had it succeeded, thousands of American soldiers and marines may have died, and the operation as a whole may very well have failed.