Statement Concerning Kanehisa

KANEHISA, TAKUYA  [Marginal Note: Sugamo 2 Sep 47 ]

Statement of Kanehisa (28 May 1947)

34, lecturer on internal medicine, KIU, graduating therefrom in 1941, staying on as a special research student at Internal Medicine Clinic. In May 1944 went to Kokura Army Hospital as P.0, in Health Section, then in November 1944 to WA Medical Section serving Headquarters troops. In Feb.  1945 the Officers Club Hospital formed, and Kanehisa there assigned. Be­came 2nd Lt. 25 Morph, 1945, discharged 3 November 1945. Kanehisa was chief doctor of internal medicine, acting director general of Officers Club Hos­pital.

Officers Club Hospital was formed by WAH, and doctors assigned by WA Medi­cal Section. Administered by WAH, Adjutants' office, from which it received orders and was directed.

Col. Koga was chief of Adjutant Section, WAH, until about May 1945, when succeeded by Lt. Col. Jinn, who remained until surrender. Maj. Kusumoto, 2nd in command, was there the entire period.

Komori was one of two surgical directors of Officers Club Hospital, the other being Tatsuro Kishi, who arrived about March 1945. Kanehisa heard on 20 June that Komori was wounded on the night of 19 June returning home from a party held by Horiuchi to thank the doctors of the University Hos­pital Genealogical Clinic for treatment rendered to Horiuchi's wife or woman friend.

Kanehisa knew that some research was being conducted in a search for a bed bug toxin at the Officers Club Hospital, doesn't know whether Komori was working on this.

The office of the doctor treating PWs, Kanehisa thinks, was in the building called the PW prison.

About end of May or beginning of June, a medical Sgt. from the medical sec­tion came to the Officers Club Hospital and asked for some gauze to clean the blood of the bodies of some Prisoners that were going to be shot.

In about mid-May, Kanehisa noticed one day that Komori was not at the Officers Club Hospital. To this Kanehisa paid no attention, but one day having business with him learned from nurse that he was at the University doing research . A few days later one of Surgical Section curses told Kanehisa that Komori had gone to the University with some staff Officers to perform operations. The next day or so Kanehisa noticed something being dried on a desk in the Officers Club Hospital laboratory, one of the nurses telling him that it was chopped up liver taken from a PW who had been operated on at the University, or she might have said that Komori had brought the liver from the University and was planning to make a stomach medicine out of it. Komori told Kanehisa that he was planning to do this himself.

Kanehisa then changes his story somewhat and states that one of the nurses told him that Komori brought liver from the University, and Komori told him that he was conducting liver operations on PWs, so it is obvious

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where the liver had come from. Komori first told Kanehisa he had performed a liver operation a few days after Kanehisa found the liver; it was unusual for a human liver to be drying in the laboratory. Kanehisa also heard this from the adjutant, Kusumoto. Most of the people in the hospital saw this liver.

A Short time later, at lunch, Komori said that he performed a liver opera­tion on a PW since the Prisoners were going to be executed anyway and so they had used them for research for the University. The hospital personnel conjectured that the staff officers, planning to execute the Prisoners any­way, had ordered Komori to use them for research purposes. It was general knowledge among the hospital workers that Komori, along with some staff Officers, had gone to the University and requested that Ishiyama permit them to conduct the operation at the University Hospital. Kanehisa thinks that Komori said this to Kanehisa at one time.

In Kanehisa's opinion, the responsibility for the operations rests in the Staff and the CO, Yokoyama. Despite Komori's rank, he was on friendly terms with the staff Officers and idea might have been his. Kanhisa opines that the important thing is to find out which staff Officers accompanied Komori on his trip to Ishiyama when the operations were performed.

Komori did much unusual research in medicines; he and his brother even worked for a time on a universal cure all medicine. While fact that he brought liver from University seemed odd, not too unusual for Komori. Liver is good medicine for anaemia and malnutrition.

While Kanehisa states "it was my responsibility" to report actions of Komori to Yoshimura, Horiuchi, or one in authority, he did not do so, although he felt the operations performed were inhuman since the care of the PWs was the responsibility of the Staff Officers and these acts of Komori were either ordered secretly or at least performed in the company of Staff Offi­cers - Komori had said that Staff Officers had gone with him to watch the operations. Kanehisa points out that he was not Regular Army.

Kanehisa Imagines that Komori hod already informed the head of the medical section, Horiuchi, since he occasionally went up to talk to him, and they were on rather friendly terms.

Since Kusumoto, the directing authority for the Officers Club Hospital, had at one time mentioned that Komori was now making stomach medicines, Kanehisa presumed that he was already informed as to Komori's activities.

Yoshimura was 2nd in command of the medical section and chief of Welfare and Hygiene Section of Fukuoka Branch of the Army Officers Club Hospital and a director of medical affairs of the hospital. Komori would occasiona­lly see Yoshimura bout surgical and medical matters.

Ikeda and Maekawa occasionally came to the Officers Club Hospital on busi­ ness, but Kanehisa doesn*t know for what business. Others came unofficially to take baths, etc.

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Komori's best friend was probably Shichiro Matake, who was not at the hospital at the times of the operations. While Matake was at the hospita 1, he was an army civilian, then called into army sometime before operations, (and presumably left.)

Statement of Maekawa (23 May - 3 June 1947) There were 3 medical officers assigned to Kaikosha Hospital, 4 around May 1945. One was 2nd Lt. Kanehisa, from about March until end of war. Kanehisa,Mataki, Komori come to Yoshimura to make reports on the Kaikosha Hospital and for consultation.

Memo of Jinnaka written 11 June 1947. Jinnaka heard rumor of Komori's having human liver for experiments from Kanehisa.

Statement of Ito (11 July 1947) In late May or early June 1945, when Ito walked into the Officers Club Hospital dining room, already seated at the table were Kishi, Kanehisa, Miyamoto, Komori, Mornota, Shinno and Sasaki.

Kishi gave Kanehisa and Ito a piece of [Marginal Note: human liver] meat with chopsticks, then took one himself.

Statement of Kishi (2 June 1947) Kanehisa and Kamada were the doctors of internal medicine at the Officers Club Hospital.

Statement of Kishi (10 July 1947) Komori and Kishi were in the dining room by themselves before the others arrived. Hfcmari said,"The others won*t eat it (human liver) unless we tall them that we have eaten some, so let us tell them that we have already eaten some." Kishi agreed. The cooked human liver was on the table at this time. Shortly after, Kanehisa, Ito, Shinno and Kamata came in.

Kishi did see Komori, Kanehisa, Ito, Kamada, Shinno, Tsurumaru eat the human liver, all knowing that it was human liver.

Statement of Jinnaka (11 June 1947) Certified translation.... Rumors heard by Jinnakas At the Kaikosha Hospital Komori had cut out an object which looked like a human liver, was drying it, intending to create some new kind of medicine. (Jinnaka heard this rumor in June 1947? from Kanehisa.)