The Horrors of Germ Warfare.(Japan against China)(Brief Article)

For years, Japan denied the existence of Unit 731--a secret World War II Army unit. It allegedly dropped bombs in China to spread plague bacteria, and experimented with chemical and biological agents on prisoners in northern China. Recently 180 Chinese citizens filed suit against the Japanese government seeking compensation and an apology from Japan for the deaths of their relatives. Two weeks ago Chinese epidemiologist Qiu Mingxuan testified before a Japanese court on the issue. Qiu, 69, is the retired director of the epidemic-prevention station in his village of Quzhou in Zhijiang province. Qiu testifed that he saw the human toll after Japanese dropped plague germs on Quzhou. After the case began, the Japanese government officially acknowledged the existence of the unit but has said nothing about its activities. Last week Qiu spoke with NEWSWEEK's Gregory Beals in Tokyo.

BEALS: What do you remember about Japanese biological warfare during World War II?

QIU: I was 9 years old when the first biological attacks took place in my hometown on Oct. 4, 1940. We saw a single plane fly overhead. There was no bombing, no shaking of the ground, and when we came out of our shelters we saw that the plane had dropped wheat and cotton fibers, fleas and beans. Everyone thought it was suspicious. About six days later somebody died of an unknown disease. The county hospital collected the fleas and preserved them. By Oct. 12, more people became ill and were found to have bubonic plague. Twenty-two people died in isolation in little more than a month. They were the first cases of plague we had ever seen. The fleas were examined and found to be one of the main carrier species of bubonic plague.

How did people in your village react when they learned of the deaths?

I can still remember the panic among the people. The contaminated area was closed off and extended to about 250 meters from my house. Everybody kept their doors closed and was afraid to go out. The stores were closed down. The schools were closed down. But by December, the Japanese airplanes came to drop bombs almost every day. We couldn't keep the quarantine area closed. The people inside ran to the countryside, carrying the plague germs with them.

Why did that experience make you interested in becoming an epidemiologist?

I knew friends, ...