Japanese WWII 'Horror Bunker' bio-weapons lab found in China

According to declassified documents, the information was exchanged for immunity from war crimes and given to the U.S. authorities. It was then transferred to Fort Detrick, a U.S. Army research center, where it was used to develop biological weapons during the Cold War. According to a report published in China's top archaeological journal Northern Cultural Relics in May, the discovery of an underground laboratory may provide new evidence about war crimes.

“It also highlights the ongoing legacy of Unit 731’s atrocities and their impact on global efforts to prevent biological warfare,” said the researchers from the Heilongjiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, reports SCMP.

In 2019, archaeologists began investigating the bunkers using various techniques such as geophysical prospecting, drilling, and excavation. However, they have yet to enter the bunkers. According to the survey, an underground facility comprised a network of tunnels and chambers, each serving different and intricate purposes. After the war, the facility's surface structures were demolished, leaving only the runway and foundations, but the underground structures remained relatively untouched as far as is known.

A cluster of bunkers 5 feet (1.5 meters) below the surface at the center of the site was of particular interest to them, reports the SCMP. The U-shaped structure, about 33 meters long and 20.6 meters wide, runs east to west with a room on each side. A circular room is found at the location, measuring around three meters in diameter. According to scientists, this room may have been used to observe human subjects exposed to pathogens or chemical agents.

According to a South China Morning Post report, researchers have recently uncovered evidence of the lasting impact of Unit 731's horrific war crimes on global efforts to prevent biological warfare.