Ken Yuasa
Encyclopedia
Ken Yuasa was a World War II
surgeon
for the Japanese army
. During his service in occupied China
he (along with at least 1000 other doctors and nurses) conducted vivisections on Chinese prisoners and civilians, and provided typhoid and dysentery
bacillus
to the Japanese army for use in biological warfare
. Years after the war, he began to realize the extent of the atrocities he and others had committed and began writing and speaking about his experiences all over Japan
.
and grew up in Tokyo, attending a high school near the well-known Yasukuni Shrine
in Chiyoda Ward
. He decided to follow his father's example and after graduating from Jikei University's School of Medicine in March 1941, became a doctor. He had originally hoped to become a rural practitioner traveling to remote villages that had no doctor and helping to treat underprivileged patients. However, along with the vast majority of able-bodied young men in Japan, he was soon drafted into the Imperial Army
.
(formerly Luan) in Shanxi Province. Two Chinese prisoners, a younger man and an older man were handcuffed to operating tables while 20 other doctors and nurses observed. First an appendectomy was performed on one of the conscious patients after which the doctor sutured the wound, and then a tracheotomy
. Impelled by interest, Yuasa went on to perform an amputation
of the right arm of one of the prisoners. The two prisoners were later dumped in a hole near the hospital. Yuasa admits being afraid during the course of this vivisection, but by his third trial, he admits to being a willing participant. He recalls an additional incident when he operated on a Chinese prisoner who had been deliberately shot so he could be operated on as practice for a "real situation". He was under orders not to use anesthesia. Yuasa has said that in all he participated in 14 such vivisections.
After the war ended, Yuasa became a prisoner of war in China. He was compelled by his captors to record on paper all of the atrocities he had committed as a doctor in China. It was not until he began to write down in detail his past actions, that he began to portray himself as having realized the magnitude of what he had committed. In 1956 he was released and allowed to return to Japan.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
for the Japanese army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. During his service in occupied China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
he (along with at least 1000 other doctors and nurses) conducted vivisections on Chinese prisoners and civilians, and provided typhoid and dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
bacillus
Bacillus
Bacillus is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria and a member of the division Firmicutes. Bacillus species can be obligate aerobes or facultative anaerobes, and test positive for the enzyme catalase. Ubiquitous in nature, Bacillus includes both free-living and pathogenic species...
to the Japanese army for use in biological warfare
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
. Years after the war, he began to realize the extent of the atrocities he and others had committed and began writing and speaking about his experiences all over Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Early years
Yuasa was born in Saitama prefectureSaitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
and grew up in Tokyo, attending a high school near the well-known Yasukuni Shrine
Yasukuni Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of...
in Chiyoda Ward
Chiyoda, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda ward. As of October 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 45,543 and a population density of 3,912 people per km², making it by far the least populated of the special wards...
. He decided to follow his father's example and after graduating from Jikei University's School of Medicine in March 1941, became a doctor. He had originally hoped to become a rural practitioner traveling to remote villages that had no doctor and helping to treat underprivileged patients. However, along with the vast majority of able-bodied young men in Japan, he was soon drafted into the Imperial Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
.
War experiences
Within six weeks into the beginning of his service in China, Yuasa was conducting vivisections of prisoners. The Japanese army believed in the importance of performing operations on live prisoners as a way of learning how to better care for Japanese casualties. Yuasa's first vivisection was in March 1942 in the army hospital in ChangzhiChangzhi
Changzhi is a prefecture-level city in Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. It lies between the city of Huozhou in Shanxi and the city of Hebi in Henan....
(formerly Luan) in Shanxi Province. Two Chinese prisoners, a younger man and an older man were handcuffed to operating tables while 20 other doctors and nurses observed. First an appendectomy was performed on one of the conscious patients after which the doctor sutured the wound, and then a tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
. Impelled by interest, Yuasa went on to perform an amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
of the right arm of one of the prisoners. The two prisoners were later dumped in a hole near the hospital. Yuasa admits being afraid during the course of this vivisection, but by his third trial, he admits to being a willing participant. He recalls an additional incident when he operated on a Chinese prisoner who had been deliberately shot so he could be operated on as practice for a "real situation". He was under orders not to use anesthesia. Yuasa has said that in all he participated in 14 such vivisections.
After the war ended, Yuasa became a prisoner of war in China. He was compelled by his captors to record on paper all of the atrocities he had committed as a doctor in China. It was not until he began to write down in detail his past actions, that he began to portray himself as having realized the magnitude of what he had committed. In 1956 he was released and allowed to return to Japan.
Post-war activism
Hoping to act as a reminder to Japan that these atrocities must never be repeated, Yuasa was one of a handful of doctors who eventually stepped forward to confess their crimes to the Japanese public and the world at large. He publicly detailed the army's atrocities since his return to Japan in the 1950s. He received death threats from various individuals and was advised by former colleagues at the Luan army hospital to "go easy" on his revelations. Until his death, Yuasa continued touring Japan, and telling audiences of his wartime experiences.Sources
- Gold, Hal. Unit 731 Testimony, Charles E Tuttle Co., 1996. ISBN 4-900737-39-9.
- Mention of Ken Yuasa's death