Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification DepartmentThe Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department was a department of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1936 to the dissolution of the Army in 1945. While its public mission was to prevent the spread of disease and monitor water supply, several field armies also assigned units the mission of manufacturing biological weapons.
Biological warfareUse of strategically designed biological weaponsU.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jess V. Hernandez, right, assigned to the 119th Maintenance Squadron, leads Airmen through extreme cold, harsh winds and snow on their way to chemical and biological warfare trainingBiological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria (bacteriological warfare), viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war.
Chemical warfareUsing poison gas or other toxins in warFrom top, left to right Sarin bomblets for use on the Honest John rocketWhite phosphorus explosion during training at Edgewood ArsenalIranian soldier wearing gas mask during the Iran–Iraq WarPostwar disposal of mustard gas produced by Japan on Ōkunoshima during World War IIFrench gas attack in Flanders, World War ITear gas used in Incheon during the June Democratic Struggle
Imperial Japanese ArmyThe Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan's rapid modernization during the Meiji period, fought in numerous conflicts including the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and World War II, and became a dominant force in Japanese politics.
Pingfang, HarbinPingfang District (simplified Chinese: 平房区; traditional Chinese: 平房區; pinyin: Píngfáng Qū) is one of nine districts of the prefecture-level city of Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China, forming part of the city's urban core. The least spacious of Harbin's county-level divisions, it borders the districts of Xiangfang to the north, Acheng to the east, Shuangcheng to the southwest, and Nangang to the west.
Manchukuo1932–1945 Japanese puppet state in northern ChinaToday part ofChinaJapanese nameHiraganaまんしゅうこくKyūjitai滿洲國Shinjitai満州国Alternative Japanese nameKanji満州帝国HiraganaまんしゅうていこくKatakanaマンシュウテイコクManchukuo or Manchoukuo was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Manchuria that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945.
Japanese languageJaponic languageJapanese (日本語, Nihongo; ) is the principal language of the Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide. The Japonic family also includes the Ryukyuan languages and the variously classified Hachijō language.
Second Sino-Japanese War1937–1945 conflict in East AsiaBelligerentsChinaKuomintangCommunist Party of ChinaSoviet Volunteer GroupAmerican Volunteer GroupUnited StatesChina Burma India theaterJapanManchukuoWang Jingwei regimeMengjiangNorth China Political CouncilCommanders and leadersKMT:Chiang Kai-shekHe YingqinChen ChengBai ChongxiCheng QianXu YongchangCPC:Mao ZedongZhu DeYe TingChen YiS.E.A.C.:Lord MountbattenJoseph StilwellSun Li-jenLiao YaoxiangImperial General HQ:HirohitoKan'in KotohitoHajime SugiyamaHideki TojoYoshijirō UmezuNorth China Area Army:Hisaichi TerauchiHayao TadaCentral China Area Army:Iwane MatsuiOtozō Yamada:Shunroku HataToshizō NishioYasuji OkamuraUnits involvedSee combatantsStrength 16 million+ totalNationalists1.7 million (1937)2.6 million (1939)5.7 million (1945)Communists640,000 (1937)166,700 (1938)488,744 (1940)1.2 million (1945) 4.1 million totalJapan600,000 (1937)1,015,000 (1939)1,124,900 (1945) (excluding Manchuria and Burma campaign)Puppet states900,000–1,006,086 (1945)Casualties and lossesOfficial Nationalist data1,319,958 killed1,761,335 wounded130,116 missing3,211,409 total casualtiesWestern Estimate2,000,000+ killedCommunist data160,603–161,067 killed285,669–290,467 wounded87,208 missing45,989 POWs446,736 to 584,267 total casualtiesTotal3.85 million casualties1 million+ captured266,800–1,000,000 POWs deadJapanese medical data455,700–700,000 military dead900,000 wounded22,293+ captured1.5~ million total casualtiesPuppet state forces288,140–574,560 dead742,000 woundedMiddle estimate: 960,000 dead and woundedTotal2.4–3.0 million casualties 12,000,000+ civilian deaths14,000,000–22,000,000 total deaths 35,000,000 total Chinese casualties (Chinese claim)^From December 1941.^Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was the Supreme Allied Commander in the China Theater, meaning U.S. forces technically fell under his overall command.
HarbinManchu nameManchu scriptᡥᠠᠯᠪᡳᠨRomanizationHalbinRussian nameRussianХарби́нRomanizationKharbinThis article contains Manchu text. Without proper , you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Manchu alphabet.Northeast ChinaNortheast China (Chinese: 东北; pinyin: Dōngběi) is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of the provincesLiaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, China's largest plain, with an area of over 350,000 km (140,000 sq mi).
Southeast AsiaSubregion of the Asian continentSoutheast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of mainland Australia, which is a part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean.Mainland ChinaGeopolitical term for China without Hong Kong, Macau, TaiwanAlternative Chinese nameSimplified Chinese中国内地Traditional Chinese中國內地Literal meaningInland ChinaMainland Area of the Republic of ChinaSimplified Chinese中华民国大陆地区Traditional Chinese中華民國大陸地區"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War.
Hepburn romanizationHepburn (Japanese: ヘボン式ローマ字, romanized: Hebon-shiki rōmaji, lit.'Hepburn-style Roman letters') is the main system of romanizationfor the Japanese language. The system was originally published in 1867 by American Christian missionary and physician James Curtis Hepburn as the standard in the first edition of his Japanese–English dictionary.
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