Statements Concerning Kishi

Statement of Kishi (10 July 1947)

About 6 June 1945, Komori and Kishi were taking a bath together in the evening. Kishi stated that Miyagi had died of cancer of the lung, thought that if he had been operated on earlier he might have lived a little longer, asked Komori if it were possible to remove one complete side of the lung, Komori answered, "Yes it can be done. Dr. Ishiyama removed one complete side of a lung of a PW and the PW did not die." Kishi then asked if the operation were performed under ether or with the injection of a local anaes­thetic. Komori replied that the operation was performed without anaesthetic, local or ether. Kishi remarked that it must have been very painful; Komori replied, "It didn't appear to have hurt too much." But Kishi thinks that he might have been lying. Kishi knows that a spinal anaesthesia would not have been effective in the case of a lung operation, states that ordinarily a local anaesthetic on a lung operation would be used.

Kishi states that if the person were tied so that he could not move, such an operation would be possible where he is conscious.

Some time later, Sato came to the Officers Club Hospital to get an injection for, Kishi thinks, gonorrhea, given by either Kishi or Komori. Komori asked him, "Did the poison medicine for bed bugs work?" Sato answered, "Thanks, to you,they seem to have become quite scarce."

In incident concerning the liver previously described, that Komori brought from the University, before Komori told the nurse to take the liver some place, Kishi cut the liver in half to see what the inside looked like. Then the nurse took the liver away, That evening Kishi saw Komori separating the gall bladder from the liver which he had brought from the hospital that day. Kishi helped him by holding the liver while he cut away the gall bladder. This was done in the operating room ante room. Komori wanted to separate the gall bladder from the liver for operational practice. He had told Kishi earlier that this liver was a human liver taken from a PW.

This liver was served at the Officers Club Hospital Dining Room the follow­ing noon. While Kishi usually ate lunch at the headquarters dining room on this day— between 1 June and 5 June 1945— for some reason he ate at the Offi­cers Club Hospital dining room. Komori and Kishi were in the dining room by themselves before the others arrived; at that time Komori said, "Since that liver has been cooked, let us feed it to the others." Kishi answered that they should. Komori then said, "The others won't eat it unless we tell 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 then said, "Won*t you eat some of this liver? Komori and myself have eaten some." Everyone helped himself to the liver and ate some of it. When they were almost through with the meal, Capt. Tsurumaru, of the Headquarters Medical Section, came in to the dining room. As he entered, Komori said to him, "Won't you eat some of this liver?" He did not tell him that it was a human liver. After Tsurumaru had eaten a little of it, Komori told him that it was a human liver taken from a PW. Tsurumaru was surprised at this, but

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he continued to eat the liver. Kishi believes that Tsurumaru already knew about the operations on PWs at the University, because of his actions at the human liver feast in which he said to Komori, "What? Have you done it again?", implying that Komori had performed smother operation on a PW.

Kishi did see Komori, Kanehisa, Ito, Karnada, Shinno, Tsurumaru eat the humsn liver, all knowing that it was human liver, taken from a PW during an opera­tion at the KIU. Capt. Matake was also there, also ate the liver knowing it was human liver, was there when Kishi first narrated what it was. Kishi be­lieves Matake was on furlough at the time and merely stopped in— he believes he heard this from Head Nurse Shiokawa.

Shiokawa was not at the human liver feast, may have come in after they had all finished eating. Komori and Kishi did tell her about it. Komori stated "We have just eaten that human liver," referring to the human liver which had been brought to the hospital the day before. Shiokawa asked "Is this true,” and Kishi replied, "That is right."

At the feast Tsurumaru said, "It doesn't seem like this is human liver."

Human liver was the only type of liver served.

About the end of September or early October 1945, when part of the Officers Club Hospital had moved to Futsukaichi, Shiokawa and Kishi were waiting for a bus in the street after they had finished taking a bath. Sato stopped his car, picked them up, said to Kishi, "After the war(he mentioned the date but Kishi doesn't recall it) a Prisoner from a B-29 was executed. At the time of his capture, this Prisoner was very weak and probably would have died anyway. However, since he was executed, won't you write a death cer­tificate stating that he died of sickness? I have asked some persons from the Medical Section and the head of section, Horiuchi, but they have said that they would not write it. Of course, if Komori were alive he would write it at once, but, since he is dead, won't you write it?" Kishi refused because he didn't see the person who died. Shiokawa did not hear this con­versation, was some distance away. However, Kishi may have told her about it.

Kishi then recalls that also at the liver feast were Miyamoto, the head of Administration at the hospital and Oda, a civilian dentist at the Hospital. Kishi told them that it was human liver when they first sat down to eat. P.O. Sasaki, a dentist at the Officers Club Hospital, was not there. When [Marginal Note] Kishi arrived at the Officers Club Hospital, he had been transferred to another, but occasionally returned to the Officers Club Hospital where Kishi met him.

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[Diagram showing seating arrangement of Japanese officials at dinner table, including Matake, Komori, Kishi, Ito, Tsurumaru, Kamada, Kanehisa, Shinno at the table and Oda and Miyamoto near the table ]

Kishi is certain as to the position of Komori, Mataki, Kanehisa, Tsurumaru and himself, but not Kamada, Ito, Shinno, Oda, and Miyamoto. As Kishi re­calls, Oda and Miyamoto sat on the Japanese mat portion of the room fartherest from the entrance.

PO Mcmoda, a medical supply Officer, left the Officers Club Hospital before Kishi arrived, although Kishi met him once. He was not at the feast.

Kishi states that whenm everyohe came into the dining room he told them that it was human liver.

Statement of Miyamoto (23 July 1947) At the meal given for Matake, fish, tomatoes, rice and soke were served by the nurses. Present at this meals Komori, Matake, Kanehisa, Ito, Shiokawa, Reiko, Takechi, Kishi, Shinno, Asamizu, Momota, Tsurumaru. This was not an ordinary lunch, but a party given for Matake.

Statement of Ogawa (Shiokawa) (4 June 1947) 2nd Lt. Kishi was assistant to PO Komori who was chief of Surgery Section at OCH.

Statement of Kamada (23 July 1947) About one week after Kamada was assigned to work at the Kaikosha Hospital, around 28 May, there was a special lunch for Matake, who visited the hospital at that time. Those attending: Miyamoto, Shinno, Kishi, Kanehisa, Komori, Matake, Ito, Sakai, Kamada. Believes they ate fish; Kamada ate everything that was served, is quite evasive about human liver— states that he did not know about human liver, if he had known it was human liver he would not have eaten it.

Kamada recalls having a conversation with Kishi, who sate next to Kamada, when they sat down to eat, and Kishi passed a platter of something to Kamada— he doesn’t remember what. Kamada believes Kishi said, "Won’t you try some of this?” Kamada took some of this food.