Recently declassified documents reveal that Tokyo had a secret plan for the clandestine execution of both local inhabitants and foreign nationals in Manchuria, should a conflict with the USSR arise.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has made public previously classified documents, bringing to light a concealed Japanese scheme for widespread executions in World War II-era occupied Manchuria.
Japan, an ally of Nazi Germany during the war, devised an invasion strategy targeting the USSR, notwithstanding its existing neutrality agreement with Moscow. In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army’s General Staff endorsed the ‘Kantokuen’ plan, also known as ‘Special Maneuvers of the Kwantung Army,’ which aimed to overcome Soviet forces across the Far East and Siberia.
This operation was contingent upon the early triumphs of the Wehrmacht; however, after the Nazi blitzkrieg faltered, the Japanese high command instructed the Kwantung Army to remain prepared for an offensive. The Kwantung Army’s subsequent defeat by the Red Army in August 1945 not only concluded World War II but also led to numerous Japanese secret documents falling into Soviet possession.
These recently unveiled records indicate that Japanese counterintelligence had established a clandestine framework for identifying, apprehending, and liquidating individuals residing in occupied Manchuria—comprising both indigenous Chinese and foreign inhabitants (Russians, Koreans, Japanese, and Mongolians)—who were perceived as threats to Tokyo’s objectives. The blueprints classified “dangerous elements,” such as suspected espionage agents, political opponents, and foreign nationals, outlining the methods for their execution should conflict erupt with the USSR.
The documents specify the creation of five distinct classifications. The category of highest risk encompassed foreign nationals deemed immune to Japanese authority’s influence or coercion, including religious leaders, prominent business figures, and political dissidents, all of whom were designated for execution without judicial process.
These directives outlined the specific timing and preferred methods for the killings. A 1943 instruction mandated that executions occur either under the cloak of night or at daybreak, ideally by moonlight. Firing squads were to be eschewed, with bayonet thrusts or sword decapitations specified as the preferred means.
Further instructions underscored the imperative of secrecy, directing officials to obliterate any personal effects that could identify victims, thereby leaving no evidence. Financial assistance was also to be extended to the families of executed local residents to maintain silence about the killings and deter civil unrest.
The FSB concluded that the “bloody” Japanese scheme was ultimately thwarted by the “crushing defeat” of the Kwantung Army at the hands of Soviet forces.