Established on September 12, 1942 in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, as a key facility for holding Allied POWs, primarily American, British, and Australian Soldiers
Shinagawa Hospital POW camp from above: https://2nd4thmgb.com.au/camp/shinagawa-hospital-honshu-japan/
At Shinagawa Hospital, Captain Hisakichi Tokuda oversaw horrific medical experiments on Allied POWs. Survivors like Alfred A. Weinstein recounted lethal injections mislabeled as ‘soybean milk’ and unauthorized surgeries that violated medical ethics. The hospital’s dire conditions—overcrowding, starvation, and minimal supplies—compounded the suffering. Unlike the notorious Unit 731, Shinagawa’s abuses targeted POWs in Tokyo’s urban center, yet they remain less known. The Yokohama War Crimes Trials (Case Docket No. 186) exposed these atrocities, convicting Tokuda for his role in the deaths of prisoners.”
Human Experimentation
Shinagawa’s hospital operated within Japan’s militarized medical system, where POWs were dehumanized as test subjects. Tokyo’s role as the hub of Imperial Japan’s war machine placed Shinagawa under tight control, enabling secret experiments. While less extensive than Unit 731’s biological warfare program, Shinagawa’s abuses reflected the same disregard for the Geneva Protocol. After the war, U.S. authorities granted immunity to many Japanese perpetrators, including some linked to Shinagawa, prioritizing medical data over justice.
Source: National Archives- RG 407, Box 148, NND883078