Bioweapons U.S. conducted bioweapon tests in Japan in early 1960s

Published 17 January 2014

The U.S. Army tested biological weapons in Okinawa, Japan in the early 1960s when the United States ruled the prefecture. U.S documents confirmed that the tests, conducted at least a dozen times occurred between 1961 and 1962. The test involved releasing rice blast fungus over rice paddies in order to measure the agent’s effect on production. With hundreds of millions of people dependent on rice as a staple food, failure of rice production could result in mass starvation. The fungus infects crops naturally, and experts estimate it destroys enough rice to feed sixty million people a year.

The U.S. Army tested biological weapons in Okinawa, Japan in the early 1960s when the United States ruled the prefecture. U.S documents obtained by Kyodo News confirmed that the tests, conducted at least a dozen times occurred between 1961 and 1962.

Japan Times reports that rice blast fungus was released over rice paddies in order to measure the agent’s effect on production. Rice blast, caused by a fungus, causes lesions to form on leaves, stems, peduncles, panicles, and seeds.

With hundreds of millions of people dependent on rice as a staple food, failure of rice production could result in mass starvation. The fungus infects crops naturally, and experts estimate it destroys enough rice to feed sixty million people a year.

The United States may have had China and Southeast Asia in mind when testing the rice blast fungus. Recently, the U.S. disclosed information on chemical and biological warfare tests conducted by the U.S. military at sea and on land in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Utah.

The United States ended all biological weapons programs in 1975 with the signing of the Biological Weapons Convention.

The Times notes that the documents which were made public by the U.S. government list several test sites, including Nago and Shuri, both located in Okinawa. The field tests involved the army using “a midget duster to release inoculum alongside fields in Okinawa and Taiwan.” Dosages at various distances were measured along with the effects on crop production. “Field tests for stem rust of wheat and rice blast disease were begun at several sites in the (U.S.) Midwest and south and in Okinawa with partial success in the accumulation of useful data,” according to the documents.

It was previously reported that the U.S. military stored defoliants on Okinawa during the Vietnam War. The Times noted that construction workers unearthed about twenty barrels underneath a soccer field in the city of Okinawa in June 2013. The field was part of Kadena Air Base, the Pentagon’s largest base in the Pacific region until it was returned to civilian use in 1987. The barrels contained two ingredients of military defoliants used in the Vietnam War: the herbicide 2,4,5-T and 2,3,7,8,-TCDD dioxin. Levels of TCDD in nearby water measured 280 times the safe limit. The Defense Department has denied storing defoliants on Okinawa, but the department distanced itself from the barrels upon their discovery. The Defense Department is investigating whether the barrels were buried after the land’s return to civilian rule in 1987.

Japanese authorities are concerned that the polluted land pose a threat to the health of local residents and require prompt remediation.