TOKYO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Okunoshima, a small island covering only about 0.7 square kilometers in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, is known today as "rabbit island" for the wild rabbits roaming across it, attracting tourists from Japan and abroad.
But during wartime, the island was a major hub operated by the Imperial Japanese Army to manufacture poison gas, where chemical warfare agents were produced and used to inflict suffering on countless innocent people. It was, in reality, a "poison gas island."
Recently, Xinhua reporters visited Okunoshima together with members of Japanese civic groups dedicated to historical research, Japanese students, and Chinese students studying in Japan.
Japan established a comprehensive system for chemical warfare during the war. The facility on Okunoshima produced poison gas; the Sone Manufacturing Plant in Kyushu was responsible for filling chemical agents into shells; the Narashino Army School in Chiba Prefecture trained personnel for chemical warfare.
Japan's production and use of chemical weapons violated the Geneva Protocol. To conceal its activities, the Japanese military kept the construction and operation of the poison gas facility on Okunoshima secret throughout the war.
According to the Okunoshima Poison Gas Museum, the island was under round-the-clock security. On trains traveling along the coast opposite the island, windows facing the sea had to be covered. At one point, Okunoshima was even removed from maps.
Akio Kusumoto, a member of the Japanese civic group engaged in passing on atomic bomb experiences, said the island produced various types of poison gas, including the vomiting agent "Red No. 1," blister agents "Yellow No. 1" and "Yellow No. 2," and the lethal agent "Brown No. 1."
"It is said that the poison gas produced there enveloped the entire island like air pollution, with toxic substances settling downward. According to testimonies, the gas filled the air, and the ground appeared to be covered in a white fog," said Shizuyo Yamauchi, head of the Japanese civic group Poison Gas Island Historical Research Institute.
Most of the poison gas produced on Okunoshima was transported to China and used on battlefields, causing large numbers of casualties among Chinese military personnel and civilians. Some chemical shells were abandoned in China, where they have continued to pose a threat to local residents.
"Starting a war is itself an act of aggression. In particular, on this island, they manufactured poison gas in violation of international treaties and used it on the battlefield," Yamauchi said.
"The abandoned chemical weapons are still taking Chinese lives, polluting the environment and threatening people's lives today. What a grave crime that is," she added.
Following Japan's surrender in 1945, the poison gas facility destroyed its stockpiles and burned relevant documents in an apparent effort to prevent the crimes from being exposed.
Today, the remaining ruins on the island still bear traces of Japan's efforts to cover up that history. At the site of the former Nagaura Poison Storehouse, vegetation has covered the ground and roof, but its darkened interior walls remain clearly visible.
Kusumoto said that when handling the poison gas after Japan's defeat, the military first pumped the gas out of storage tanks before removing the tanks. As toxic residues were believed to have remained on the walls, flamethrowers were reportedly used to burn them.
Even today, 81 years later, the history of the "poison gas island" remains little known in Japan.
Taichi Koseki, a student from Kansai Gaidai University who joined the visit, said it was his first time learning about the island's history. "I knew about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, but I had no idea that there had been a poison gas factory on this island in the same prefecture," he said.
In contrast, Okunoshima has been widely promoted as "rabbit island" and a tourist destination.
Japanese photojournalist Kenji Higuchi said that, ultimately, the Japanese government wants to remove the label of "poison gas island" and does not want people to remember what happened there.
Asami Ogura, an associate professor at National Institute of Technology, Kure College, said this history is now hardly taught in Japanese schools.
Japanese people should learn about the fact that Japan once manufactured poison gas and caused extremely serious harm to China, Ogura said, adding that she would share what she had seen and learned on the island with her students.
Kusumoto said that many people remain unaware of this history of perpetration; to ensure this history is not erased and to prevent such a tragedy from repeating itself, these historical facts should be fully conveyed to the public. ■