File photograph of Japanese invaders sporting fuel masks getting into a battlefield in Shanghai in 1937. /VCG
An exhibition on the Japanese army’s manufacturing and use of poison fuel throughout World War II (WWII) is being held from August 23 to twenty-eight in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Organized by a Japanese civic group, the “Japanese Military Poison Gas Exhibition” goals to show the atrocities dedicated by the Japanese army, particularly the wartime manufacturing of poison fuel and the waging of fuel warfare throughout its struggle of aggression in opposition to China, and to disclose the crimes in opposition to humanity perpetrated by Japanese militarism.
According to supplies offered on the exhibition, Japan produced poison fuel on Okunoshima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, manufactured poison-gas shells in Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture, and educated personnel for chemical warfare in Narashino City in Chiba Prefecture, amongst different areas throughout WWII. The Japanese army additionally performed chemical warfare operations in varied components of China.
After Japan’s defeat, some chemical weapons have been left behind in China, persevering with to trigger hurt to native folks. However, the Japanese authorities has issued neither a proper apology nor compensation.
The exhibition makes use of images and written supplies to doc the historical past and has invited Japanese civilian researchers, photojournalists, and others concerned in researching the topic to talk on the venue.
Japanese photojournalist Kenji Higuchi has investigated points associated to poison fuel warfare on Okunoshima Island since 1970, documenting victims of poison fuel, in addition to the stays of services the place chemical weapons have been produced, by his lens.
Speaking on the occasion, Higuchi recounted his experiences reporting on the topic and known as on the Japanese authorities to face historical past squarely.
“Conducting chemical warfare was an atrocity committed by the Japanese military in its war of aggression against China, yet the Japanese government seeks to erase this part of history,” Higuchi advised Xinhua. “They committed such evil acts, and it is a disgrace for the country. That is why they want to erase it from history.”
Masao, a customer from Yokosuka, stated Higuchi’s account on the exhibition made him notice that this a part of historical past had remained largely unknown for a very long time.
“I never learned about this history at school. They don’t teach this at school. It was really shocking to see these materials for the first time,” one other Japanese customer advised Xinhua.
Higuchi pressured the significance of preserving and conveying the historic file.
“This history must be made clear. What was wrong was wrong, and what was right was right. We must become people capable of distinguishing right from wrong,” he stated.
Source: CGTN