Documents dating to Japan's bacteriological war in China released in Guangzhou

Color scans of the roster of a Japanese army unit involved in bacteriological warfare in South China during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) were unveiled on Monday at an archive in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

The roster, donated by Japanese scholar Seiya Matsuno, contains detailed information including names, dates of birth, places of origin, dates of enlistment, previous units, types of military service, branches, ranks and monthly salaries of members of the Japanese army unit.

According to Guangdong Provincial Archives, it is the first time that such a roster relating to a Japanese army unit has been released in China.

The document, compiled in Japanese on Feb 1, 1945, was sent back to Japan for storage and reference as well as being used for centralized management by the Japanese army authorities.