Meet Wang Xuan, a woman who is working tirelessly to seek justice for victims of biological weapons of Unit 731.  

Born in 1952 in Shanghai,   China,   Wang Xuan graduated from a university in China and worked as an English teacher for over ten years.    In 1993 she received a Master's Degree in Education with distinction from the University of Tsukuba in Japan.    In 1995,   she discovered by chance what would turn out to be the cause to which she would dedicate her life's work.    From a news article in an English newspaper about the First International Symposium on Unit 731 held in Harbin,   China,   she learned that Japanese peace activists had been reported going to Chongshan Village,   Yiwu,   Zhejiang Province,   China,   to investigate the plague epidemic caused by Unit seven three one's bacterial warfare in World War II.   This cause had been special in Wang Xuan's heart as her family was from Zhejiang.   During WWII,   Zhejiang was of strategic importance,   as several airfields in the area were used as Allied bases.   The Zhejiang Jiangxi Railway also was viewed as an important supply line.   The Imperial Japanese Army then launched strategic attacks on the railway from May to September of 1942.    This was also directed at the allies in retaliation for the "Doolittle" air raids on Tokyo by the U.S. bombers.    Due to the number of ground troops in the area,   the Japanese Imperial Army considered it considerably more cost effective to use biological weapons than any other method.

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Pearl Harbor was a United States naval base on the island of Oahu, located west of Honolulu. On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy bombed the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in a surprise attack. ​

Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy came to the conclusion that for the Japanese to be victorious in the pacific, they had to destroy the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.  Pearl Harbor was considered to be geographically perfect for the United States to have their Pacific fleet based there. The island had a narrow entrance and shallow water which made it an ideal and impenetrable fort. An attack by enemy forces was thought to have been impossible.  Prior to the attack, Japanese Naval forces practiced the attack at Kagoshima Bay, a Japanese base. It was described as the “twin sister” of Pearl Harbor for its near-identical structure.

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Burma was a mountainous country nestled between British India and Japan occupied China. Prior to 1941, Burma was of little importance to countries such as Great Britain and the United States. The mountainous region of Burma discouraged any type of trade or travel. Only once did the campaign of the Japanese to control Southeast Asia began, did Great Britain and the United States realize the value of Burma.

From the beginning, Great Britain and the United States agreed that Burma was strategic in defeating Japan. Interestingly enough, Great Britain and the United States differed in their motives for protecting Burma. First, Great Britain viewed Burma as a barrier between British India and Japan occupied China. The barrier between these two countries would secure the safety of the “Crown Jewel of the British Empire”. In contrast, the United States saw Burma as a lifeline for China, which was under occupation by Japan. The United States believed that if they were to hold Burma, the Chinese could overthrow Japan and take back their country. The continued support of the Chinese was an effort by Franklin D. Roosevelt to gain a potential ally in China.

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The Imperial Japanese Forces attacked Pearl Harbor and the Philippine Islands simultaneously. This planned attack on these two specific areas was a strategic attack that meant American control in the Pacific and expand Japan’s territory. Following the surrender of the Allies at the Battle of Corregidor, all radio connections and communications ceased as the Japanese military invaded the Philippine Islands. Despite the lack of communication, some American and Filipino soldiers were able to evade the Japanese and go into hiding. One of those soldiers who was able to escape was Ramon Magsaysay Sr. who would become a prominent leader in the Western Luzon Guerrilla Force.

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There is no person more important to Singapore’s modern history than Lee Kuan Yew. He led Singapore into the modern age, guiding Singapore from a devastated British colony to a thriving and prosperous independent city-state. His determination to reshape Singapore was shaped in part by his experiences during the brutal Japanese occupation.

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During World War 2, there were non-Filipinos soldiers who decided not to surrender with some running off to safety and others being cut off in their location at the time of surrender behind the Imperial Japanese Army's line. ​These men chose to serve along the side of their Filipino allies during World War II in the resistance against the Japanese thus becoming guerrillas. This list of men also includes those who were inserted through submarines on various Philippine islands. These men were sent there to conduct different intelligent functions most commonly radio operators or coastwatchers, but they fought with guerrillas and served beside them as well. These Filipino and American soldiers went through inhumanity and deprivation at the hands of the Japanese who were responsible for transporting them. The Guerrillas also fell subject to horrible torture by the Japanese followed by beheading usually after being forced to dig their own graves.

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The Flying Tigers, officially known as the First American Volunteer Group, were American pilots who fought in the Chinese Air Force during World War II between 1941 and 1942. They are best known for popularizing the shark's mouth design frequently painted American military aircraft. In addition, their now-famous unit insignia of a winged Bengal tiger was designed by the Walt Disney Company.

References

1. Eisel, Braxton. The Flying Tigers: Chennault's American Volunteer Group in China. Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program, 2009. https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo66524/AFD-101028-007.pdf.

2. Elder, Robert. "American Volunteer Group (AVG)." In Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations, edited by Yuwu Song. McFarland, 2009. http://libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/mcfcham/american_volunteer_group_avg/0?institutionId=1724

3. Ference, Greg. "Chennault, Claire L. 1893-1958." In Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations, edited by Yuwu Song. McFarland, 2009. http://libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/mcfcham/chennault_claire_l_1893_1958/0?institutionId=1724

The Japanese occupation of Singapore took place from 1942 to 1945 after the British surrendered in February 1942. One month later, in March 1942, the Japanese government adopted an educational policy as part of the “Principles for the Gunsei Disposition of the Occupied Area”. The objectives of the policy were to teach industrial technologies and the Japanese language as the lingua franca of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, to promote the spirit of labor, and to unite the cultures of the indigenous peoples of the southern region with Japanese culture under the spirit of Hakko Ichiu (universal brotherhood). Education was essentially a propaganda tool.

References

1. Forging a Singaporean Statehood, 1965-1995: The Contribution of Japan By Di Robin Ramcharan pg. 93

2. A History of Modern Singapore, 1819-2005 By C.M. Turnbull p.209

3. New Perspectives on the Japanese Occupation in Malaya and Singapore, 1941-1945 edited by Yōji Akashi, Mako Yoshimura pg 48-49

The Philippines played a critical role in American strategy during World War II. Before the war, the United States had large numbers of troops stationed on the islands. After U.S. forces were defeated from the islands, regaining the Philippines became an important goal, especially for General MacArthur, who had been forced to evacuate from his headquarters there in 1942 when the Japanese attacked.

Accordingly, MacArthur adopted a strategy of island-hopping, which would allow him to steadily drive Japanese forces out of the islands they had conquered, bringing him closer and closer to Japan itself. Unfortunately, the Philippines’ proximity to Japan meant that they were among the last of the occupied islands to be retaken; fighting on the island of Mindanao continued up until the Japanese surrender in August of 1945.

References

1. Bluhm, Raymond K. "Battle of Corregidor." Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Corregidor.

2. Morton, Louis. The Fall of the Philippines. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1953. https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm#part1.

During the early twentieth century, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded and occupied Chinese lands without ever officially declaring war. In 1915, Japan issued the secret Twenty-One Demands to Chinese president Yuan Shikai, with the intent to claim economic and political power over China. ​The Demands were divided into five groups, with the Group Five demands including concessions similar to those Japan had forced on Korea. After twenty-five rounds of negotiations and intense political maneuvering on President Yuan’s part, the Twenty-One Demands were agreed to, except for the Group Five demands. The other Demands, though, reinforced Japanese control of southern Manchuria, Shandong, and eastern inner Mongolia.

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