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19291929–1945 · Okunoshima, Takehara

Okunoshima poison gas factory

The ivy-covered concrete shell of the poison gas factory's power plant on Okunoshima
Photo: Asturio Cantabrio. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On a small island in the Seto Inland Sea the Imperial Japanese Army secretly made mustard gas and other chemical weapons, though Japan had signed the 1925 Geneva Protocol against their use. The island was dropped from maps, many workers suffered lasting lung disease, and the gas was used in China. Its ruins and a museum opened in 1988 present Japan as aggressor as well as victim.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Okunoshima Poison Gas MuseumProduction equipment, protective gear and workers' testimony in a small two-room museum.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Gas works power plant and storage ruinsThe roofless shell of the factory power station and concrete gas storage bunkers.Map ↗

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