Latest news with #ImperialJapaneseArmy
Japan Times
10 hours ago
- General
- Japan Times
80 years on, former teacher conveys history of hidden island in World War II
Okunoshima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea, is known as a "rabbit island" for being inhabited by around 500 to 600 wild rabbits. Despite this current image, the island has a dark past. The tiny island, located in the city of Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, hosted a poison gas plant of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II, leading to its removal from the map for confidentiality purposes. Masayuki Yamauchi, an 80-year-old former high school teacher, has continued to tell the island's history for about 30 years, calling for attention to be paid to Japan's history of aggression, not just its damage from the war, such as the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Built by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1929, the poison gas plant manufactured yperite, or mustard gas, which causes skin sores, as well as balloon bombs. According to Yamauchi, the plant had around 6,600 workers and produced a total of about 6,600 metric tons of poison gas by the end of the war in August 1945. Some of the gas was deployed in China. As a social studies teacher, Yamauchi learned that the poison gas had been abandoned and caused harm. To convey this fact, he began working as a guide for visitors to the island about 30 years ago. In mid-May, Yamauchi toured junior high school students from Gifu Prefecture around the island. In front of the memorial monument for workers at the poison gas plant, he shared stories of those who suffered damage from the poison gas, such as chronic bronchitis. "Children of your age also came to work (at the plant)," said Yamauchi. The students listened attentively while taking notes. At the former site of a facility that supplied power to the poison gas plant, Yamauchi spoke about work to inflate balloon bombs. "The entire nation is forced to cooperate in wars unknowingly," he said. "It could happen to us." Yamauchi, a returnee from the former Manchuria in northeastern China, has also continued to interact with poison gas victims in China. "Cross-border exchanges are the first step to preventing war," he stressed. Many students learn about Japan's wartime aggression for the first time during their visits to the island, and this motivates Yamauchi. "In the war, Japan was not only a victim, but also an aggressor," he said. "I want to continue to call (on visitors to the island) to do what we can for future peace."
Japan Times
11 hours ago
- General
- Japan Times
Researcher seeks to save Osaka Army Arsenal as 'negative legacy'
A military factory that was said to be the largest in the Orient was once in operation at a site now part of Osaka Castle Park at the center of the city of Osaka, and a researcher is calling for the remaining buildings to be preserved as a "negative legacy." Osaka Army Arsenal, which manufactured artillery for the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army, employed up to around 66,000 people, including mobilized students, across its approximately 6-million-square-meter site. Osaka Castle Park is lush with greenery and bustles daily with people enjoying jogging, as well as visitors from abroad. Next to Osaka Castle Hall in the park is a commemorative monument with an inscription reading "Army Arsenal site" and an explanatory plaque, but few people stop to look at it. A man who was out cycling said, "I vaguely knew the factory existed, but I didn't realize it was that big." According to Koji Miyake, professor emeritus at Mukogawa Women's University who specializes in the history of science and technology, Osaka Army Arsenal was set up in 1870 at the suggestion of Masujiro Omura, who played an active role in the establishment of the Imperial Japanese Army. The latest metalworking technologies of that time were introduced, and military trucks and tank engines were also produced. On Aug. 14, 1945, the day before the radio broadcast by then-Emperor Hirohito announcing Japan's surrender in World War II, the arsenal was targeted by U.S. air raids. More than 80% of it was destroyed, rendering the complex inoperable, according to the office of Osaka's Chuo Ward. Koji Miyake, professor emeritus at Mukogawa Women's University, speaks in May in front of a commemorative monument with an inscription reading "Army Arsenal site" in the city of Osaka. | Jiji After the war, Osaka Castle Park and other facilities were built on the site of the arsenal, and only a few buildings remain, such as the chemical analysis laboratory where weapons research and development were conducted. The brick building of the laboratory was used as a classroom building by the University of Osaka, but is now closed to the public due to the risk of collapse. With the country marking the 80th anniversary of its surrender in the war next month, there are few people left who can recount their memories of the arsenal. Neither the national nor municipal governments that own the factory site are actively seeking to utilize the ruins. "The weapons manufactured at the arsenal were used in a war of aggression," Miyake said. "It is necessary to continue to preserve the ruins appropriately as a negative legacy so that war will never happen again."
Asahi Shimbun
2 days ago
- Health
- Asahi Shimbun
WWII Japanese troops' PTSD revealed for 1st time at museum
An exhibit showcasing the psychological trauma that Imperial Japanese Army troops suffered during the Pacific War has opened in a museum in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. The materials and items are a result of Japan's first national survey into the trauma experienced by Japanese soldiers. The exhibition opened on July 23 at the Shokei-Kan, a historical materials hall for wounded and sick retired soldiers. Although the show is temporary to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, it is scheduled to become a permanent exhibit starting in February next year. The existence of soldiers suffering from psychological conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was concealed during the war and remained hidden even in the years following the conflict. However, families of former soldiers are increasingly giving testimonies about the effects of war trauma in recent years. This has attracted attention not only to the soldiers' personal suffering but also to the harm inflicted on their families, such as abuse by veterans struggling with unresolved mental scars. In response to the testimonies of the soldiers' families, the government conducted research during the last fiscal year by collecting and analyzing medical records and personal accounts preserved in former military hospitals and other institutions. The exhibition, titled 'soldiers with emotional wounds,' features stories of veterans who directed violence against family members even after the end of the war. Akio Kuroi, representative of an association for families of Japanese soldiers with PTSD, which has long been offering testimonies, visited the exhibit on July 24. He welcomed the new awareness, saying, 'The government has finally taken the first step.' 'There are still many former soldiers who have not been officially recognized as war-injured by the government,' Kuroi said. 'Their families continue suffering even now. A full-scale investigation must be carried out under the government's responsibility to uncover the reality.'
Buzz Feed
3 days ago
- Health
- Buzz Feed
21 Body Horror Wikipedia Pages
Obsessed with the macabre?! Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox! Fatal Familial Insomnia — An extremely rare genetic neurological disorder that causes progressive insomnia, leading to total sleep deprivation and death. At the most basic level, FFI affects the part of the brain that controls sleep. People with this rare disorder slowly lose the ability to sleep, and this leads to serious problems like confusion, trouble moving, body changes (like sweating a lot or having a fast heartbeat), and eventually death — usually within a year or two. Currently, there is no cure or treatment. Doctors can test for the gene, but they can only treat the symptoms to keep the person as comfortable as possible. Guatemala Syphilis Experiments — Unethical medical studies conducted by the US government in the 1940s, where researchers intentionally infected prisoners, soldiers, and mental patients in Guatemala with syphilis and gonorrhea without consent. Without the people's knowledge or permission, researchers deliberately infected hundreds of Guatemalan prisoners, soldiers, sex workers, children, and even mental hospital patients with syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases to test if antibiotics like penicillin could prevent or treat them. Many of the people were never treated, and some suffered serious health problems or died. These experiments were kept secret for decades and only became public in 2010, when the U.S. government formally apologized for the abuse and wrongdoing. Unit 731 — Japan's WWII biological and chemical warfare research unit that conducted live human experiments. Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in occupied Manchuria (present-day China). Operating under the guise of epidemic prevention, it conducted brutal human experiments on civilians and prisoners of war, including vivisection, forced infection with deadly diseases, and frostbite testing. These experiments led to the deaths of an estimated 300,000-plus people. After the war, the U.S. granted immunity to many Unit 731 members in exchange for their research data, allowing key figures like Ishii to avoid prosecution. The unit's atrocities remain one of the most horrifying examples of wartime human experimentation. The Monster Study — A 1939 unethical speech experiment that was conducted on orphaned children in Iowa. Some were psychologically abused to induce speech problems. Led by a researcher named Wendell Johnson, this controversial experiment set out to find out if telling kids they had a speech problem could actually make them stutter. They worked with 22 children from an orphanage — some who already stuttered and some who didn't. The researchers told some of the kids with normal speech that they spoke badly and needed to be careful, even though that wasn't true. As a result, some of those kids became shy, nervous, and had trouble speaking, even though they hadn't stuttered before. The experiment caused lasting emotional harm, and it was later called the 'Monster Study' because of how unethical it was. In 2007, a lawsuit filed by former test subjects and estate representatives of those who have since died was settled for $925,000. Radium Girls — A group of young women in the 1910s and 1920s who worked in factories painting watch dials with glowing paint that contained radium, a radioactive element, ultimately leading to their horrifying deaths from radiation. The young women were told the paint was safe and were even encouraged to lick their brushes to get a fine point. Over time, many of them became very sick — losing teeth, suffering from broken bones, and developing terrible jaw problems — because the radium was poisoning them from the inside. When the companies refused to take responsibility, some of the women fought back by taking them to court, winning a settlement in 1928. FOP (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva) — An extremely rare condition where a person's soft tissues — like muscles, tendons, and ligaments — slowly turn into bone over time, essentially turning people into 'living statues.' Because of this condition, parts of the body that are supposed to move and bend can become locked in place by extra bone growing where it shouldn't. Even small injuries, like bumps, can trigger this bone growth. As FOP gets worse, it can become very hard to move, eat, or even breathe because of extra bone forming around the rib cage, restricting expansion of the lungs. There's no known cure yet, and doctors try to help by avoiding anything that might cause flare-ups and by managing symptoms as best they can. Tuskegee Syphilis Study — A racist and unethical 40-year medical experiment carried out by the U.S. government where Black men with syphilis were deliberately left untreated. From 1932 to 1972, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study involved hundreds of poor Black men in Alabama who had syphilis but were never told they had the disease. Instead of treating them, doctors studied how the illness would progress if left untreated — even after penicillin became the standard cure in the 1940s. The men were misled and denied proper care for decades, which caused serious harm and death. The study only ended after a news report exposed it, leading to public outrage and a formal government apology in 1997. Teratoma — A type of tumor that commonly contains teeth, hair, fat, or muscle. They can even contain a liver, lungs, eyes, or even a brain, though it's not as typical. Teratomas are sometimes mistaken for parasitic twins. This type of tumor happens when certain cells that are supposed to develop into any part of the body grow in a confused or mixed-up way. Teratomas can be found in places like the ovaries, testicles, or even the chest or brain. Most are harmless and can be removed with surgery, but some can be cancerous and need more serious treatment. Even though they can sound strange or scary, many teratomas are treatable, especially when found early. MKUltra — A highly secretive human CIA experimentation program that tested mind control techniques, often without subjects' consent. MKUltra began in 1953 and ran through the 1960s. The program consisted of a series of projects that experimented with mind control techniques — often without people's knowledge or consent. They tested drugs like LSD, hypnosis, and other methods on prisoners, hospital patients, and even regular citizens, hoping to learn how to control thoughts or extract secrets. Many people were harmed, and some were permanently affected or died. The project was kept hidden until the 1970s, when it was exposed by journalists and government investigations. Body Integrity Dysphoria — A rare condition where a person feels like a part of their own body — such as a leg, arm, or even their vision or hearing — doesn't belong to them, sometimes giving them a desire to amputate healthy body parts. Even though the body part is healthy, the person might feel very distressed and strongly believe that they would feel better or 'whole' if it were removed or disabled. This condition is not well understood, and it can be very upsetting for those who experience it. Treatment is challenging, and doctors usually try to help through therapy and support, rather than surgery, since the condition is more about how the brain sees the body rather than something physically wrong. Exploding Head Syndrome — A harmless but startling condition where a person hears a sudden loud noise — like a bang, crash, or explosion — just as they're falling asleep or waking up. Even though it sounds real, there's no actual sound and nothing is physically happening when people experience this. It doesn't cause pain, but it can be scary and confusing. Some people also see flashes of light or feel a jolt in their body. Experts aren't sure exactly what causes it, but it may be related to how the brain shuts down for sleep. Lobotomy — A once-popular psychosurgery technique involving destruction of the brain's frontal lobe, often resulting in severe personality changes. Though it's since been discredited, at the time, this brain surgery was used to treat severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and depression. It involved cutting connections in the brain's frontal lobes to reduce symptoms, but often caused serious side effects such as personality changes, cognitive impairment, and emotional dullness. Popularized in the 1930s through to the 1950s — especially by neurologist Walter Freeman's 'ice-pick' method — it was eventually abandoned due to its harmful effects and the rise of psychiatric medications. Resignation Syndrome — A rare and mysterious condition where children, usually refugees, fall into a coma-like state after experiencing extreme stress or trauma — often related to uncertainty about asylum or fear of deportation. Children with this condition will stop talking, eating, walking, and responding to the world around them, as if they've completely shut down. It has mostly been seen in Sweden among children from war-torn countries. Recovery can take months or even years, and often begins once the family's asylum situation becomes more secure. Necrotizing Fasciitis — Also known as 'flesh-eating bacteria,' is a rare but very serious bacterial infection spreads rapidly and is often fatal. Necrotizing fasciitis spreads quickly and destroys the body's soft tissue, especially under the skin. It's sometimes called a "flesh-eating disease," though the bacteria don't actually "eat" flesh — they release toxins that kill tissue. It often starts from a small cut, bruise, or surgery site and can rapidly cause swelling, severe pain, redness, and fever. Without fast treatment, like antibiotics and surgery to remove dead tissue, it can become life-threatening. Harlequin Ichthyosis — A very rare and severe genetic disorder where babies are born with thick, hard skin that forms large diamond-shaped plates separated by deep cracks. This tight skin can pull on the eyelids, lips, and chest, making it hard to move, eat, or even breathe. It's caused by a gene mutation that affects how the skin forms a protective barrier. Babies with this condition are at high risk for infections and dehydration. While it was rare for affected infants to survive the newborn period with this condition, today babies with it now have a much better chance of living to childhood and early adulthood. Morgellons — A controversial and poorly understood condition where people feel like they have bugs crawling on or under their skin and often report finding strange fibers or particles coming out of their skin. For people affected by this condition, these symptoms are usually very distressing and can include itching, sores, and pain. Many doctors believe Morgellons is linked to a mental health condition called delusional parasitosis, where a person mistakenly believes they're infested with parasites. However, some patients and researchers argue it's a physical illness that hasn't been fully explained yet. Brain-Eating Amoeba (Naegleria fowleri) — Sometimes called the "brain-eating amoeba," it is a rare but deadly microscopic organism found in warm freshwater like lakes, hot springs, and poorly maintained pools. This amoeba can enter the body when water goes up the nose — usually during swimming or diving — and then travels to the brain, causing a severe and often fatal infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Symptoms start with headache, fever, and nausea, and quickly progress to confusion, seizures, and coma. It's almost always fatal, but very rare, and you can't get it from drinking water — only from water entering the nose. The Thalidomide Scandal — A major medical disaster in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where a drug called thalidomide was given to pregnant women to treat morning sickness and help with sleep, but actually caused birth defects. At the time, the drug was thought to be safe, but it caused severe birth defects in thousands of babies across the world. Many were born with shortened or missing arms and legs, and some had problems with their ears, eyes, or internal organs. It took five years for the connection between the drug and the birth defects to be made. The tragedy led to stricter drug testing and approval rules in many countries, especially during pregnancy. Randy Gardner sleep deprivation experiment — Randy Gardner was a high school student who, in 1964, stayed awake for 11 days straight (264 hours) as part of a science fair experiment — the longest scientifically recorded period of sleep deprivation. During the experiment, he experienced mood swings, memory problems, trouble concentrating, and even hallucinations, but surprisingly had no long-term health effects. Researchers used the experiment to learn more about how important sleep is for the brain and body. Afterward, Randy recovered by sleeping for about 14 hours and then returning to a more normal sleep pattern. Trepanation — The oldest surgical procedure known to man, which was the practice of drilling or cutting a hole into the skull to treat head injuries, relieve pressure, or for spiritual reasons. Evidence shows trepanation (trepanning) was practiced over 7,000 years ago in many ancient cultures. Surprisingly, some people survived multiple procedures. Today, it has evolved into modern craniotomy — a safer, more precise surgery used to treat brain injuries, remove tumors, or relieve pressure, performed with sterile tools and medical imaging. Finally, Biosphere 2 — A sealed greenhouse-like structure built in Arizona in the early 1990s to test whether humans could live in a self-sustaining environment, like a mini Earth, for space travel. Although it sounded cool, people ended up starving and "gasping for breath." Inside, the structure had different ecosystems — like a rainforest, ocean, and desert — and was meant to recycle air, water, and food for eight people living inside for two years. While the idea was exciting, the experiment faced major problems: oxygen levels dropped significantly, food became scarce, and people argued, making it hard to live and work. Obsessed with this kind of content? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get a weekly post just like this delivered directly to your inbox. It's a scary good time you won't want to miss.
The Mainichi
5 days ago
- General
- The Mainichi
Wartime child worker reveals dark secrets of Japan's 'Rabbit Island'
HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) -- Okunoshima has become famous globally as Japan's Instagrammable "Rabbit Island," but little is known about its dark history as a host to a wartime poison gas factory and weapons plant. Today, people come to enjoy the picturesque views of the Seto Inland Sea from campgrounds and hiking trails in the Inland Sea National Park, with the island's charm and intriguing past making it a compelling subject for online content. Eighty years ago, the island hosted a secret poison gas factory that played a key role in Japan's illegal use of chemical weapons in occupied China. It was also a production site for the military's long-range, unmanned, incendiary "balloon bombs" that were used against the United States during World War II. Reiko Okada was mobilized to the island as a teenager for the war effort, helping the Imperial Japanese Army build balloon bombs known as "Fu-Go." Okada, now 95, is one of the few people still alive who has both a "gas notebook" for poison gas victims and an "A-bomb notebook" for survivors of the atomic bomb. Japan, which was a signatory to the Geneva Protocol of 1925 that prohibited the use of chemical and biological weapons, produced mustard gas and other deadly chemical weapons on Okunoshima, at what was the largest poison gas factory in Asia. Okada was sent to Okunoshima as a 15-year-old third-year student at Tadanoumi Girls' High School in Takehara -- near the seaside Hiroshima Prefecture city located on the main island of Honshu -- in 1945. After the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, effectively bringing about Japan's defeat in World War II, she also worked as a relief worker in the suburbs of Hiroshima. In an interview, the former art teacher from Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, declared her willingness to tell the "last story of my life" and warned: "If we do not face up to our responsibility as perpetrators of the war, we will repeat the mistakes of the past." At the end of 1944, the government had proclaimed "ichioku gyokusai," translated literally as "100 million shattered jewels." The phrase served as the last unofficial rallying cry of the empire, expressing the regime's willingness to sacrifice the entire Japanese population, if necessary, to protect the fatherland. Whenever Okada, who was mobilized in November of the same year, heard these words, she stared fixedly at the surrounding waters and thought: "I don't want to die." The following summer, when Japan was bombed by U.S. air raids in various regions, Okada and the other girls were suddenly ordered to "evacuate" poison gas materials to a neighboring island. In the sweltering heat, the schoolgirls donned work gloves and transported the chemical barrels to a dock, making more than a dozen trips a day for over two weeks. Okada says she and the others were given strict instructions by the army not to reveal Okunoshima's location to family or friends. On Aug. 15, students gathered in a square on the island to listen to the "Jewel Voice Broadcast" in which Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender in a radio address. Then, for about two weeks from Aug. 18, she was involved in an A-bomb relief effort in a middle school auditorium in a suburb of Hiroshima. She says it was a horrific scene where people were dying every day. "It felt like a damp world of maggots crawling inside weakened bodies," she recalled. Okada, who had traveled to the city within two weeks of the bomb's detonation, was certified as a "hibakusha" -- atomic bomb survivor -- because she had entered the affected area shortly after the attack. Before that traumatizing period, she had spent time on the island in the weapons factory. There, she and her fellow students used a paste made from konnyaku root to build the unmanned, hydrogen-filled balloon bombs, which were 10 meters in diameter and made of Japanese washi paper. Carrying incendiary bombs and an advanced-for-its-time altitude control system, the balloons were able to ride the jet stream across the Pacific and reach North America. Between 1944 and 1945, more than 9,000 of these balloons were launched, mostly from three bases in Japan, and at least 300 are believed to have reached the U.S. mainland, where they caused wildfires but little other major damage. Okada realized her own culpability in the war, however, when she later learned that six people, including children, had been killed by a balloon bomb in western Oregon in May 1945 -- the only known casualties in the continental United States from an enemy attack during the war. After the war, Okada studied at a fine arts college run by Kyoto city. She returned to her hometown of Mihara, where she taught art at a local high school until her mid-50s, before devoting herself to painting privately and peace work. She suffered physical after-effects from her time in Hiroshima shortly after the bombing and from chronic bronchitis caused by her stint on Okunoshima. However, treatment allowed her to overcome her ailments. After the war, Okada also learned that poison gas weapons had wreaked havoc in China. In 1989, after retiring from teaching, she published a book of pictures documenting her war experiences and sent it to Chinese war victims to express her remorse and apologies. Since then, she has continued her anti-war campaigning through her drawing and writing. According to the U.S. military's post-war records, Japan produced 6,616 tons of poison gas that was used in over 7 million ammunition rounds, including artillery shells. Some of the poison gas munitions transported to China went unused and were left abandoned, causing problems when they were later found or unearthed. The Japanese government confirmed the "existence of abandoned chemical weapons" in a memorandum to the Chinese government in 1999. Currently, the total number of chemical weapon munitions left behind is estimated at more than 100,000. Japan and China are working together to dispose of them. Okada believes Japanese people "should accept causing a war as our responsibility, face it, reflect on it, apologize for it, make amends for it and ensure that it leads to friendship and peace." With various conflicts raging around the world, "we don't know when Japan will go to war," she said. "Each and every one of us must not be deceived, and we must all work together to prevent war." "Nationalism is the doctrine that must be feared the most." (By Tomoji Tatsumi)
