Factual Questions

• Who was Ishii Shiro, and what role did he play in Japan’s biological and chemical warfare development during WWII?
• Why did Japanese scientists want to develop their biological and chemical warfare programs in China and other countries?
• What types of experiments did the Japanese perform on human subjects, and what were the purposes of these experiments?
• On whom did the Japanese perform human experiments?
• How were the experiments done by the Japanese scientists during WWII similar to those done in Europe by the Nazis?
• What methods did the Japanese use to spread plague in China?
• How did the use of chemical weapons by the Japanese during WWII in Asia violate international law?
• What are the ‘rotten leg villages’?
• How did the Japanese destroy the biological and chemical warfare programs at the end of WWII? What have been the long-term effects of their disposal methods?
• Why did the United States pardon those responsible for the human experiments?
• What happened to the former members of Unit 731 and other similar units upon their repatriation to Japan following the war?

Moral/Ethical Questions

• Why did the Japanese euphemistically refer to the human experiment victims as ‘logs’? What does this say about their regard for human life?
• Should data gained from these experiments be used in medical research today?
• Should Ishii Shiro and other officials involved in the biological and chemical warfare development and human experiments be classified as war criminals?
• What responsibilities do you think Japan has today to the people and countries affected by their biological and chemical warfare development programs?
• How would justice for the victims of Japanese biological and chemical warfare during WWII in Asia be relevant to your life?