The poison gas weapon was a new weapon that appeared in the First World War, and its advent attracted the attention of the Japanese military. In May 1918, Japan set up the "Provisional Poison Gas Commission" under the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of the Army, and began the initial research work. In April 1919, the Japanese Army established the Army Science Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "scientific research") under the newly established Technical Headquarters to conduct basic research for the development of new weapons. Although "scientific research" focused on the study of poison gases from the beginning, the situation of the chemical weapons squad at that time was not satisfactory, and it was just a loose department of a few people who made do with it, and even the budget was not easy to obtain.

After going to Europe to observe the actual situation of poison gas warfare, Sakumura Soki (known to Japanese academics as the "father of poison gas") went to Europe to observe the actual situation of poison gas warfare, and in 1924 he made a report to the head of the Japanese military department, saying that one of the keys to winning wars in the future was to conduct surprise scientific warfare. If such a means of confrontation are delayed by one day, there may be losses ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of compatriots. Therefore, the production of poison gas is an urgent issue at present. "This proposal was highly valued by the Japanese military department.

In April 1925, the chemical weapons class was separated from the second course of "scientific research" and set up separately, and was quickly upgraded to the third department of "scientific research", which consisted of the investigation class, the application class, the maintenance class, the protection class, and the sanitation class, with more than 50 researchers. After the third department of "scientific research", the second department of "scientific research" and the technical research institutes of the navy successively engaged in the research and development of poison gas. Since then, the development of poison gas weapons in Japan has been in full swing.

In order to strengthen the research work on poison gases, Japan has been strengthening its research facilities and on the other hand, it has continuously introduced policies and measures aimed at increasing the motivation of researchers. Emperor Hirohito declared in an imperial edict: "Since the Great War in Europe, with the development of new weapons, the research of chemical weapons (poison gas) has become the most urgent military task...... It is hereby decided to pay the prescribed chemical weapons allowance to the army and navy personnel and military industry (including non-military workers) engaged in research related to chemical weapons."

Due to the attention paid by the military and political authorities, the development of poison gas weapons in Japan is progressing rapidly. Between 1931 and 1937, the Japanese Army successively developed mustard gas, Lewis gas, phosgene, arsenic cyanide, bromide, ethyl chloride ketone and other poisonous gases, and completed the standardization of a large number of poisonous gas weapons, such as various poison gas cylinders, artillery gas bombs, poison gas bombs, poison spreaders for armored vehicles, and poison spreaders for aircraft. By around 1936, Japan's poison gas weapons were close to the world's first-class level.

In April 1929, the Japanese Army built a poison gas factory on Okunoshima Island, Tadakai Town, Hiroshima Prefecture, and began industrial production of poison gas. The factory grew in size repeatedly, starting with only about 80 employees and swelling to 2,045 after the outbreak of war in 1937. The poison gas produced by the Okuno Gas Plant was filled by the Sone Arms Factory, which was built later, to complete the process of manufacturing poison gas weapons.

In August 1933, the Japanese Army established a special poison gas warfare school in Narashino Town, Chiba Prefecture, and began to train officers and non-commissioned officers in poison gas warfare. In total, the Narashino School trained about 10,000 officers and sergeants, the vast majority of whom were sent to the battlefields of China to become the backbone of the gas war against China.

Japan's earliest poison gas warfare unit was the training team of the Narashino School of the Army (under the jurisdiction of a pursuit artillery squadron, a vehicle gas squadron, and a pack horse gas squadron), but they were only a temporary, training unit. In January 1936, the second department of "scientific research" put forward a plan for the establishment of regular gas warfare units such as field gas squadrons. Before and after the start of the war, Japan's regular poison gas warfare units were formed one after another and sent to China to fight.

3,240 tons of poison can poison people around the world——

During World War II, Japan violated international treaties by secretly manufacturing poison gas for warfare, and a large number of artillery shells filled with poison gas were shipped to China. More than half a century later, the chemical weapons abandoned by the invading Japanese army still threaten the safety of Chinese residents.

From Honshu Island, drive west, pass through Kobe, and cross Okayama to reach the boundary of Hiroshima Prefecture. From Mihara City, transfer to a train bound for the Seto Inland Sea, which ends at Tadashi Port. Standing in the harbor and looking out to sea, you can see a small island shrouded in sea fog, which locals say is Okunoshima. Seeing this small island surrounded by greenery and water, it's hard to imagine that it once had a terrible nickname——— 'Poison Gas Island'.

For this visit, we contacted Mr. Masayuki Yamauchi, an expert who is familiar with Okunoshima, and asked him to explain it to us. Coincidentally, when we arrived at Chunghai Port, Mr. Yamauchi was busy receiving a group of junior high school students to visit. The teacher who led the group said that visiting the 'poison gas island' can help students understand history and society, and is part of social education. In order not to affect the students, we also joined their ranks.

Relive the criminal history of 'Gas Island'

Mr. Yamauchi was a former teacher in Takehara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and after his retirement, he specialized in the history of Poison Gas Island, and his business card reads, "Remember the past, be a teacher of the future——— learn the history of war and damage from Okunoshima." On the ferry to Okunoshima, Yamauchi explained that Japan secretly carried out poison gas warfare during World War II, and that there were two bases for the production of poison gas throughout the country: Narashino (Sagamihara area, Kanagawa Prefecture), which was managed by the old navy, and Okunoshima, which was under the jurisdiction of the old army. Okunoshima produces 90% of the poison gas. The poison gas produced here is generally transported to military factories such as Sone in Kyushu, where it is loaded and used as a chemical weapon, mainly for use in the Chinese battlefield.

Not far from Kure Port, which was a military port before the war, Okuno Island has a circumference of about 4 kilometers, and from aerial photographs, it looks like a dead leaf floating in the sea. Originally a deserted island, it became a military stronghold of Japan from the end of the 19th century. Out of the need for foreign aggression and expansion, in 1927, the Japanese military began to build a poison gas plant on Okunoshima, which was put into operation two years later. From the date of the gas production until the Japanese surrender in 1945, it was kept strictly secret. At that time, the people of Zhonghai were suffering from the economic recession, and many of them entered the 'mysterious place' with higher wages in order to live. Those who entered the factory had to fill out an 'oath' that they would never divulge secrets, and the workshop was constantly monitored by military police, and the curtains were closed when cars passed by, and Okunoshima 'disappeared' from the map.

There is a poison gas museum on the island, which was built at the expense of poison gas victims and peaceful anti-war groups. It exhibits a variety of poison gas containers, production machinery, anti-chemical equipment and historical materials, and receives more than 40,000 visitors every year. Yamauchi, who is in charge of the museum, said that the reasons why the military department chose this place as a poison gas manufacturing base are: First, it is an inconspicuous island in the Seto Inland Sea, which is easy to evade aerial reconnaissance and attacks; 2. It is about 3 hours away from Hiroshima, the 'military capital', by land and water, which is convenient for command; Third, it is close to the Chinese battlefield, and in case of emergency, it can directly and quickly replenish poison gas to the battlefield of aggression.

The documents on display in the poison gas museum clearly record the fact that the Japanese army launched the poison gas war. The first is the "Textbook on Combat Cases of China's Use of Weapons," which is a textbook used by Japanese military academies, which records methods for preventing poison, releasing poison, and identifying poison, and also lists several poison gas wars launched by the Japanese army in Hebei, Shanxi, and other places in China. There is also a directive issued by the Chief of General Staff of the Japanese Army in 1939, ordering the Japanese army to use 'red barrels and red bullets' (irritating poison gas) loaded with mortars in Shanxi and other places, requiring that it be "strictly concealed and leave no traces". According to statistics, during World War II, Japan launched more than 2,000 poison gas wars, directly causing more than 100,000 deaths.

'Poison Gas Island' bears witness to the past

Under Mr. Yamauchi's guidance, we visited the ruins of Poison Gas Island with the students. On the south side of the island is the site of a power plant, which supplied electricity to the island's gas plants. The furthest point from the poison gas production site was overgrown with weeds, and the massive building resembled an abandoned theater, reminiscent of the ruins of the 731 bacteriological warfare unit in Harbin. Japan's Environment Agency has put up a sign in front of it: "Do not enter in danger." We noticed that there were quite a few hares on the island, and we had to eat them when we saw them. Yamauchi said that there are more than 150 hares on Okuno Island, which are descendants of rabbits that escaped from the gas laboratory at that time. The skin of rabbits is similar to that of humans, and the speed at which the skin ulcerates can be observed by applying venom directly to the rabbit. Yamauchi told the students about the fact that the Japanese Army's Unit 731 was experimenting with live people in China, and the students were first surprised and then silent.

It is said that there are about 70 bomb shelters on the island, which are now sealed with stones and cement. Based on the testimonies of workers at the time, Yamauchi judged that there may be 17 air-raid shelters on the island with gas canisters. According to surveys, about 3,240 tons of poison gas and a large number of poison gas bombs were left behind in Okuno Island and the surrounding area after the end of World War II, which can poison people all over the world. After Okunoshima was taken over by the U.S. military, the U.S. military spent nearly a year disposing of the remaining poison gas, throwing some of it into the sea, burning it, and burying it on the spot. It is recorded that 1,845 tons of venom were thrown into the ocean at that time, and more than 650,000 poison gas bombs were burned and buried on the spot. From 1945 to 1963, Okunoshima was blockaded by the U.S. military and the Japanese government. During the Korean War, it also served as a temporary ammunition depot for the U.S. military. After the 60s of the 20th century, Okuno Island was developed as a leisure tourism destination, and a health inn was built on the island. It was not until 1984 that the United States released materials related to the "poison gas island", such as the situation of Japan's chemical warfare in the Chinese theater, the process of the US and Australian troops handling poison gas and dismantling machinery on the island after Japan's surrender, and the investigation report of Japanese soldiers and workers engaged in production there and victimized.

The most numerous ruins on the island are various warehouses and caves where poison gas were stored. Many warehouses were hidden among the leaves and dead vines, and now only the stone base where the gas canisters were held remained. There is a small warehouse that is well preserved, with a capacity of 20 tons of poison gas in each room. In the northern part of the island, there is one of the largest poison gas reservoirs, the roof is gone, and there are six columnar buildings about 6 meters high and nearly 5 meters in diameter, all made of concrete. The Department of the Environment said on a sign erected in front of the site: "From 1929 until the end of the war, the old army secretly produced poison gas on the island, mainly mustard gas and Lewis gas, both of which were erosive gases that festered the skin, with an annual production of 1,200 tons." Yamauchi said that 10 tons of mustard gas could theoretically kill all of Tokyo, and that each building here could store a huge poison gas tank with a capacity of 100 tons. Looking at this blackened poison gas warehouse full of creepers, one can't help but feel creepy. Yamauchi also led us into the depths of the jungle, where there were still fragments of the machine used to make poison gas, and 60 years later, the shape of the fragments could still be identified as parts of the blender.

Toxic remains on the island and offshore

At a construction site in northern Okunojima, workers wearing masks seal the soil dug up by the excavator in a white cloth bag to clean up the poisonous soil in preparation for the construction of a tidal embankment. In 1996, the Environment Agency conducted its first soil and water quality survey of the "poison gas islands", which found that the soil contained a large amount of arsenide (commonly known as arsenic) and the pollution concentration exceeded the standard by 470 times. The most polluted part of the island seeped 4 meters into the ground, and the government was forced to spend a huge amount of money to dig up the poisonous soil and send it to a factory in Odate City, Akita Prefecture, to clean it up. During the construction of bathing beaches and tidal embankments, there have been numerous incidents of mustard gas and hydrocyanic acid poisoning, which prove that erosive toxic gases still remain on the island or in offshore areas. Okunoshima is not yet completely safe, and the island's drinking water is still transported from outside, and the groundwater is not drinkable.

Yamauchi told the students that when he was a child, he and his friends used to sneak here to smash glass, but the government took over and banned tourists from visiting, and in 1990 someone even proposed to destroy the island's facilities, but in fact he didn't want the poison gas problem to surface. The families of the victims of the Japanese gas war and the workers on the original gas island rebelled, and many student organizations that had visited the "gas island" also participated. The story of the 'Poison Gas Island' continued to circulate among schools, and within a short period of time, 100,000 signatures were collected in Hiroshima Prefecture, forcing the Japanese government to not demolish the site.

There is a memorial monument built on the island for the victims of the Japanese poison gas. About 6,600 people have worked on the 'gas islands', all of whom have severe mucosal damage to the respiratory tract. After the war, the victims of poison gas jointly sued the Japanese government, but the Japanese government demanded that they show evidence that their illness was caused by poison gas. Several professors at Hiroshima University investigated at their own expense, and finally found out the cause of the poison and confirmed the danger of poison gas. However, the Japanese government has not officially compensated the Japanese government, but has only provided a certain amount of relief to those who worked in the factory in those years. The visiting students were shocked and said that they would tell their classmates and families what they had seen and heard when they returned. Another student said that the Japanese victims at least had disguised compensation, while the Chinese victims did not even have these, the war was not very far away from them, and Japan still had many problems that had not been solved.

Also history to the truth

Leaving the 'Poison Gas Island', Mr. Yamauchi took us to Takehara City to visit an old man named Yasuma Fujimoto. As a young man, Fujimoto worked as a technician at the Poison Gas Plant for more than 3 years, and is now a consultant at the Poison Gas Island Historical Research Institute. He was very happy to hear that Chinese reporters had come to cover the news. As soon as they met, he said that although he did not go to China during World War II, he was also the perpetrator because he had made poison gas. He said that it is natural for the Chinese people to express their anger at Japan's aggression in the past.

The old man Fujimoto said that in 1941, under the Japanese militarist education, he was only 15 years old and had just graduated from elementary school, and he entered the poison gas factory on the island as a 'militaristic teenager' and produced Louis poison gas and other erosive poison gases. Fujimoto recalls that at that time, the island was full of Japanese military police, monitoring the work of the workers, and those who did not want to do it would be immediately sent to the battlefield. People were constantly being burned by poison gas in factories, and the later the war, the greater the workload, and the more accidents there became. After the war, he was forced to sign a "pledge" that if he told the secret of the "gas island", he would be arrested, so no one who worked here dared to reveal the information about the gas factory.

Fujimoto, like many others who worked on the Gas Island, suffered from long-term tracheitis and major surgery. In the early '90s, when he saw a report on TV about a gas canister found in China, he was furious, 'Isn't this the poison gas that was produced on Okunoshima?' It's still hurting! Fujimoto learned that preliminary investigations showed that the invading Japanese army had used poison gas bombs in China more than 2,000 times, and that about 2 million gas bombs had been discarded throughout China at the end of the war, covering more than a dozen cities in China. He felt that history was not over and that it was still a 'work in progress'. He was the first perpetrator before he became a gas victim. In 1994, Fujimoto, who had been silent for many years, began to take the initiative to testify about the crimes that occurred on the "poison gas island" and began to apologize to China.

In August 2004, 11 members of the Poison Gas Island Historical Research Institute visited China, and Fujimoto went with him. During his visit, he met Li Qingxiang, a survivor of the poison gas tragedy in Beituan Village, Dingzhou, Hebei Province. As a 'poison gas maker', Fujimoto clasped Li Qingxiang's hand and apologized: 'I made poison gas, I am guilty! Li Qingxiang, who lost his younger siblings in the poison gas battle, replied: "Aggression is an ironclad fact, but the Japanese people were also deceived and sent to the battlefield. ‘