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Shunji Satō | |
|---|---|
佐藤 俊二 | |
| Born | (1896-09-12)September 12, 1896 |
| Died | January 2, 1977(1977-01-02) (aged 80) |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Conviction | War crimes |
| Trial | Khabarovsk war crimes trials |
| Criminal penalty | 20 years imprisonment with hard labor |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Service |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Shunji Satō (佐藤 俊二,Satō Shinji, September 12, 1896 – January 2, 1977) was a Japanese physician during the first half of the 20th century, amajor general in theImperial Japanese Army, and a convicted war criminal.
Satō was a native of the city ofToyohashi inAichi Prefecture.
From January 1941 he was a department head within theEpidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department under theJapanese Central China Area Army. While the public mission of this department was to prevent the spread of disease and monitor water supply, it was also assigned the mission of manufacturing and testingbiological weapons. In August, he was promoted to colonel and from November 1941 commandedUnit 8604 of theJapanese Southern China Area Army, a biological warfare unit that operated in southern China. From March 1944, he was reassigned as Chief of Medical Service of theIJA 5th Army based inManchukuo. He was promoted tomajor general in June 1945.
Captured by theRed Army during theSoviet invasion of Manchuria, he was accused ofwar crimes and sentenced to 20 years' incarceration in theKhabarovsk War Crime Trials. However, in 1956, with therestoration of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union, he was repatriated to Japan. He died in 1977.
