Insane Japanese Torture Methods Used During World War II - Unit 731

The Japanese gained a reputation as the worst country to be held captive by during the Second World War. Today we are going to highlight some of the worst torture methods used against allied prisoners of war in what became the most famous torture prison of WW2 - Unit 731.

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[jackbower]

My great grandfather was a POW in Japan for 4 years. His unit was captured in the Philippines, and he marched in the Batan Death March. He told us that once they got to the destination, the Japanese soldiers picked out certain men to march back down the mountain and bury the dead. My great grandfather was tasked with digging a mass grave with heavy machinery. He was one of the only prisoners there that knew how to man heavy farm machinery. He eventually wrote a book about his experience as a POW under Japan after roughly 40 years of experiencing nightmares in his sleep. The book never got published (do to pictures being in it that he did not own the rights to), but his experiences in that time were truly terrifying. He was a short American man with black hair, so he looked more similar to the Japanese than most Americans. Because of this, they treated him slightly better than most, but still did terrible things to him. He died at age 93 I believe (I was 14 at the time, so it has been a while). His name was James Arnold Flowers. He received a Purple Heart, and even has his own memorial highway in Laurel, MS, where he lived until his death.

[cooleosis]

"Video games make people violent"
People before video games:

[aidenfisher]

When you learn about things like this, you begin to understand why the Marines in the Pacific were so brutal to the Japanese.

[thestevenjaywaymusic]

And most of the people who did this, got away with it and never were prosecuted. That is the sickest part.

[KryptosatanTemnozor]

What is worth mentioning is that lot of "scientists" of Unit 731 were pardoned in exchange for their research.

[CraicDealer]

The fact this video doesn't even come close to depicting just how horrific the experiments of Unit 731 were is chilling.

[Hayyyward]

Crazy to think this was less than 90 years ago and there are still people alive today that experienced that war.

[matthewoconnell]

My grandfather was a Japanese POW, he was a Chindit in Burma, never spoke of his experience but was covered in scars and had missing fingers, hated them until the day he died.

[richardgrumbine]

I live in a Japanese coal mining town (Omuta, Fukuoka)...and no one seems to know anything about POWs used in the coal mines here (though it is documented)... and it is not mentioned of course in any of the local museums etc despite them being largely or entirely about coal mining. Most Japanese have no idea about war atrocities and think they are lies...

[kyjdcmo]

I’m Chinese currently in the US. My great-grandfather was a soldier who bravely fought against the Japanese invasion in Northern China, where he gave his life in battle. My grandfather, still a child at the time, was forced into labor by the occupying forces in our rural hometown. Eventually, we won the war together with the Allies.

It’s crucial to remember this history, as it reflects the shared sacrifices and unity that helped us overcome adversity. Seeing the current tensions between China and the U.S. is disheartening, and I hope we can build on our past alliances to work towards a more peaceful and cooperative future

[Skyisnotalimit]

I know a guy that went with a couple of friends to the U.S some years ago, there they met an old man that was imprisoned by japan during the war, he said the man told the most gruesome stories he had ever heard. He also told me that this old man did not own one thing at home manufactured in Japan.

[yearssober]

My uncle was held as a POW by Japan. He hated them until the day he died at 97 years old.

[lukeslayer]

The Wikipedia article for unit 731 is one of the most grotesque things you'll ever read.

[destructoau]

My Grandfather was a POW on the Burma railway for 3.5 years. The guards were cruel Korean conscripts and for all the torture they endured over 190, 000 Asian POW’s were also tortured and killed. My grandfather was involved in digging hellfire pass and the had to dig his own grave. Thankfully he survived but the Japanese were extremely cruel. When I was young I felt hatred but this was 3 generations ago and I turned that hatred into love and respect for my Grandfather!

[EducatedTurtle]

Let's not forget that with the unconditional surrender the Americans forced on Japan following the two atomic bombs, when they found out about Unit 731, they offered most of the higher-ranking scientists (including Ishii) immunity in exchange for getting exclusive access to their data and results. So instead of pursuing these criminals during the Tokyo war crime tribunal and risk other nations using the data (especially the Soviets), the Americans just let them walk free

[sakkra]

The "Water Cure" was even worse than what was depicted here. Typically, the prisoner would be force-fed water to the point of having a distended stomach from the amount of water, following which the guards would repeatedly kick the prisoner in the stomach until he vomited all of the water up, then they would start the whole procedure all over again.

Also, the late grandfather of some family friends of mine was a British POW of the Japanese in Burma. He was liberated when an American tank came crashing through the camp gates. The tank commander said something like "Good to see you guys!", to which one of the POWs replied "Not as good as it to see you!". By that point, he and the other POWs were pretty much skeletons from lack of food. He was invited back to Japan around the year 2000, and he said he enjoyed it, the Japanese he spoke with were very friendly and apologetic about what had happened.

[LSSJTHOR]

They tortured my Great Uncle WW2. While a POW they burned his feet, ripped his toenails off, and worse.(During the "💀 Marches" he saw most of his frieneds/team 💀.)
He suffered from PTSD and his body was crippled for the rest of his life.

[michaeltowler]

I wouldn't call being skewered in the stomach a quick way to die! As a teenager in the 50s, all the adults I would meet or worked with had been through the war and the ones who had been prisoners of the Japanese were the most affected, every single one of them hated the Japanese like Poison

[chris]

What is disgusting is ones like Watanabe never faced justice for their crimes.

[Tazandd]

Weird how one video can make the atom bombs sound like a humane act of war.