Unearthed Military File Details Toxic Gas Poisonings During Weapons Production

Aug 25, 2025 | News On Japan

Aug 25, 2025 (News On Japan) - At the Sone Manufacturing Plant in Kitakyushu, where the former Imperial Japanese Army produced poison gas shells, a newly uncovered report shows that workers suffered a series of accidents resulting in injuries.

The document, discovered by August 24, records serious harm from exposure to vesicant agents that cause skin to blister, forcing some workers to take leave from their jobs.

While former employees had previously testified about such accidents, no military records confirming the actual conditions had been verified until now. Seiya Matsuno, a researcher at the Institute for International Peace Research at Meiji Gakuin University and a specialist in modern Japanese history, identified the report at the National Archives of Japan.

Source: Kyodo

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