World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMasaji Kitano graduated from School of Medicine, Tokyo Imperial University in Japan in 1919 with a medical doctor degree. In 1921, he became an army surgeon, holding the rank of lieutenant. In 1932, he worked in the First Army hospital in Tokyo. In the mid-1930s, he attended the Army Surgeon School. In 1936, he went to the Manchu School of Medicine in Manchuria, China (ruled by the Japanese puppet government of Manchukuo) to teach microbiology. In 1942, he became the commanding officer of Unit 731. In Apr 1945, he was promoted to lieutenant surgeon general and appointed commander of the 13th Army Medical Corps. In Aug 1945, after the war ended, he was at first detained in a prisoner of war camp in Shanghai, China. Despite Unit 731's extensive war crimes involving human experimentation, he was sent back to Japan without any accusation in Jan 1946 due to immunity granted by the Allied leadership in exchange for their knowledge of biological warfare. He worked for the Japanese pharmaceutical company Green Cross, becoming the chief director of the company in 1959. He passed away in Tokyo in 1986.

Masaji Kitano Timeline

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