The confessions of Japanese war criminal Hideo Sakakibara

According to the written confession of Hideo Sakakibara from April to May 1956, he was born in Okayama Prefecture, Japan in 1908. He served as military doctor of the 57th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division in the "Manchukuo" in September 1936. From November 1944 to August 1945, he was head of the Linkou Branch of the Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Detachment of the Kwantung Army.

File photo of Hideo Sakakibara

Major offences:

"According to the mission of the Linkou Branch, I prepared for germ warfare during my term of office. I ordered Section Supervisor of the First Section Major Nishiya to do the bacteria preservation and cultivation work." With the production volume of that time, "if the bacteria were spread on the ground of the east section of the China-Soviet border, we would have enough bacteria to not only destroy a sizable number of Soviet forces, but also kill all the civilians in both China and the Soviet Union.";

"To find enough mice for germ warfare", "I mobilized all the soldiers to catch mice", "organized a regular mice-catching squad of 25 soldiers under the leadership of Second Lieutenant Madokoro", and "after the catching started, the following numbers of mice were successively sent to Unit 731: 1,000 in April, 10,000 in May, 8,000 in June and 7,000 in July 1945, totaling 26,000 mice";

More: Unspeakable cruelty of wartime Japan

Early March 1945:"I followed the instructions of Unit 731", and "brought two test tubes of typhoid bacteria and type-A paratyphoid bacteria, which had been preserved and cultivated in our Branch, to the Toxicity Testing Squad of the First Division of Unit 731". "The two bacteria varieties were in conformity with the toxicity standards of preserved bacteria set by the First Division of Unit 731." "They were ready for preservation and cultivation for the germ warfare." "To ensure its effectiveness in the well water, I made the plan that only by putting one or two test tubes of the bacteria into a well, the water will be toxic enough to kill people." "To test this effect, I killed 4 patriotic Chinese people";

April 1945: in Anda County, Heilongjiang Province, "I took part in the killing experiment in Anda", "4 patriotic Chinese people""were tied to the poles, which were buried half in the proving ground and placed 25 to 30 meters apart from each other". "A light bomber flied over the proving ground, dropping from 150-meter high pottery bombs which exploded 50 meters above the ground." "Wearing a full set of protective clothing, I watched the whole process of this extremely cruel atrocity from 5 to 6 hundred meters away. The bombs were filled with anthrax bacteria, which were inhaled by them through the respiratory tract, causing the incurable pulmonary anthrax, or caused cutaneous anthrax in them through the broken pieces. It was really an extremely brutal crime. I also took part in the crime";

August 1945: "Learning from the radio that we were at war with the Soviet Army, I immediately gave orders to get the trucks ready to deliver, except for the horses, all the animals kept in the Detachment, including the captured mice, white mice, beavers, rabbits and fleas, as well as the preserved and cultivated bacteria, to Unit 731." "I ordered the Detachment to cover all our houses with straw, prepare enough gasoline and get ready for burning everything down." "All trucks and equipment were burned up." "Any evidence of the preparations for germ warfare was destroyed."