Statements Concerning Komori

Statement of Tsurumaru July 1 6 2, 1947 1-5 May 1945, 1250, went to Officers' Hospital to visit in dining room after finishing lunch at Headquarters dining room, where there were seated Komori, Kishi, Kanehisa and Ito, perhaps also Matake.

Komori said to Tsuruaaru, "We have some cooked liver— won't you eat some?" Tsurumaru felt something was wrong since others laughing as if they knew something he did not. Tsurumaru took pieces of liver from both of 2 plates on table, and after eating snail pieces, started on first of large pieces. Had just bitten on first slice of small liver when someone, perhaps Komori, said "That is human liver." or perhaps he said "That is liver taken from a flier"— Tsurumaru not certain.

Tsurumaru spit it out, Komori pointed out that large slices were pigs' liver, smaller human liver. Said "Can’t any of you eat the human liver?", made remark about the rest of the diners being weak, continued to eat the human liver slices, remarked about how good it was.

Statement of Sada 6 May 1945 Soda wont to Hakata Station to sea Matake, Komori also there to send off Matake who was being sent to Officers Club Hospital. KHrnari took Soda aside, said "We have a few PWs, so if in any event you are planning to do Medical experiments you are welcome to use the PWs." Sada replied, "We cannot do such a thing in our Hospital.”

Statement of Yoshimura    D first heard about PW operations 24-27 Apr. one PM while going to headquarters via road passing Officers Club Hospital where he net Matake, who said that he had heard from some­one on administration staff that enemy air craft flyers were forced down, that they were going after them in a truck and wanted a doctor to accompany them since one wounded, and so Matake was sending Komori, who told Matake that he wanted to treat the wounded PRisoners. Yoshlmura went to Headquarters on errand, returned to Medical Section and apprised Horiuchi of what had been said, who had obviously heard previously of Komori's desire to operate on PWs. Horiuchi merely nodded his head as if to imply "I know."

Once again that afternoon on way to headquarters from Medical Section, Yoshlmura met Komori, told him of his conversation with Matake, and Komori told him he was now on his way as directed b y Administration Section. He said "As one of the Prisoners is wounded I want to operate on him by way of treatment at the University. Then, ex­plaining the operating he was to do, he said, "I have the permission from everybody that it is necessary to get permission from."

Following this, the operations were a thing of general conversation by the Officers of the Medical Section and the Officers Club Hospital. From these discussions, Yoshlmura gathered that one of the operations had been a liver operation and that Komori had experimented in the use of sulfamin as a pain killer by injecting the liquid in the large artery of the neck, thereby feeding the brain.

Statement of Yoshimura (cont'd) If Komori had permission, as be stated, it would have had to come from : Matake, Inada, Jin, Sato, Col. Akita, Maj. Gen. Fukushima, Lt. Gen. Yoshinaka, or Lt. Gen. Yokoyama.

Would also have to report this to Horiuchi.

Between 1-7 Hay, Maekawa and 2-3 other medical section officers told Yoshimura that Komori had performed operations on PWs captured from airplanes at KIU Medical College.

On about 16 May 1945 on way to Officers Club Hospital dentist, net Komori, who volunteered to give him injection in the artery of his neck to stop pain of infection of the gums, Yoshimura said he didn't want it, Komori answered that he had had a great deal of experience with this injection, that there was no danger.

Yoshimura believes a report written by Komori was given to Kobayakawa and Matsunaga concerning the Prisoners operated at KIU.

Prior to arrival of Kobayakawa and Matsunaga to inspect battle prepa­rations as to medical matters and to inspect bomb damage, Yoshimura heard someone remarking that Komori had been ordered by Horiuchi to submit a report on the operations at KIU on PWs. While in Horiuchi's off on AM of arrival Yoshimura noticed a report submitted apparently by Komori on Horiuchi's desk. When Yoshimura returned about noon, after visitors gone, Yoshimura noticed report was gone.

Statement of Ito (10 July 1947) In Aug. 45, sometime after the end of the war, at the Yamaie branch of the Kaikosha Hospital, someone told Ito that it was a good thing that Komori had died because he had done a terrible thing at the University.

Statement of Ito (11 July 1947) Ito knew Komori from 14 Feb. 1945 until 19 June, when he was killed.

Statement of Ito (11 July 1947) Ito states that he believes that Komori brought the sake (used at meal of human liver) from his own house, that sake was not usually served.

Komori said a toast to the effect that everyone sould work together and wished everyone good health.

Komori took a piece of meat from the meat plate, then gave Miyamoto and Momota a piece of meat, picking it up with chopsticks.

While the meat was being served, Momota, sitting next to Komori, asked Komori what the meat was. "I believe that Komori replied that it was the liver from a PW. Momota then asked Komori if what he had said won’t a lie. Komori replied that it was the truth and that the liver was from a PW. Oda and Ito then said that it couldn't be true. Komori then said,

Statement of Ito Cont’d . "Try it.” Following this, everyone, except perhaps Miyamoto, ate the liver. Ito ate some of it. Ito thought that Komori was ”kidding us” because he was always exaggerating or foiling people.

Statement of Kishi (2 June 1947) Kishi was a surgical doctor at Officers Club Hospital along with Komori, Komori being Kishi's superior.

Kishi heard from Komori that PWs were operated on for experimental purposes. One day in early June Kishi was in the surgery room, when Komori walked in with a covered pan in his hands; when he removed the lid Kishi saw that it was a human liver in the pan with also a great deal of blood. Kishi said, "What is that?” Komori answered "This is a pig’s liver." Kishi replied, "That’s no pig’s liver; that is human liver.” Komori simply said, ’’Hummm," meaning ”that is so."

There were 2-3 surgical nurses present at the time and Komori asked one of them to take this pan away, and she took the liver to the Medical Exhibit Room. At that time Komori said "I will use this to make a toxin for bed bugs." He was referring to the excess blood. That evening, Kishi believes, Komori told him that some experiments were being conducted by Ishiyama and himself on PWs taken from B-29 planes. Kishi asked him what sort of experiments; he replied that he wasn’t ready to announce that yet. Kishi stated that that sort of experiment is no good and it would be best for Komori to discontinue that sort of thing. Komori merely laughed.

Komori could not have performed such experiments on PWs without permission of the proper authority.

The operation performed by Komori appears to have been the removal of a com­plete liver. Inasmuch as it is never necessary to remove a complete liver, this was an unnecessary and an illegal operation, and for this reason Kishi does not respect Komori as a physician.

Komori and Kishi were "business acquaintances" only, had worked together as assistants to Professor Miyagi at Miyagi Hospital, and Komori requested that Kishi be transferred to the Officers Club Hospital.

When Komori brought back the liver from the University, he also had in his hand a jar filled with blood. This is the blood that he was talking about when he said he was going to make toxin for bed bugs.

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.

Statement of Kishi Cont'd . Some time after 6 June 1945, 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. That evening Kishi saw Komori separating the gall bladder from the liver which he had brought from the hospital that day. Kishi helped him. 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. 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, Iro, 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. Kishi believes that Tsurumaru al­ready knewuabout 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 another operation on a PW.

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

Komori and Kishi did tell Shiokawa about the human liver feast. Komori stated "We have just eaten that human liver." referring to the human liver which had been brought to the hospital the day before.

When Sato asked Kishi to write the death certificate for the PW who was exe­cuted, he also said "Of course, if Komori were alive he would write it at once, but, since he is dead, won't you write it?"