China’s Central Archives announced on Saturday, December 13, 2025, that it has received a substantial batch of evidence from Russia related to the notorious Japanese Unit 731, shedding new light on one of the darkest chapters of biological warfare in World War II.
The archive includes trial records of Unit 731 personnel, detailed investigation reports on the unit’s crimes and internal correspondence of Soviet authorities, covering the period from May 11, 1939, to December 25, 1950. Archival experts say these documents offer unprecedented detail on the scale and operation of the germ-warfare program based in Harbin, in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.
Unit 731, the Japanese imperial army’s top-secret base, conducted human experiments on at least 3,000 people—ranging from Chinese and Soviet residents to prisoners from other countries and regions. Victims were subjected to tests involving plague, cholera and other pathogens in a bid to develop biological weapons.
Previously, many records were scattered or classified, limiting scholars to fragmented accounts. The new material maps out:
- The unit’s organizational structure, from field laboratories to chain of command
- Experiment logs detailing pathogen release tests
- Correspondence between Soviet investigators and military officials
With these insights, researchers hope to deepen understanding of biological warfare’s impact on global military ethics and public health protocols. The archives plan to digitize the documents and collaborate with international scholars in 2026, making the evidence accessible to a wider audience.
As the world looks ahead to the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II next year, the release of these documents underscores the ongoing need to confront historical atrocities and reinforce international bans on biological weapons.
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China receives evidence from Russia on notorious Japanese Unit 731
cgtn.com
