[Shomatsu Yokoyama, a physiologist who refused to conduct experiments on living human bodies].

ABSTRACT

This article introduces the life of Shomatsu Yokoyama (1913-1992), a physiologist and military doctor, to the reader. During the Sino-Japanese war, Yokoyama disobeyed orders given by his superior officer to conduct inhumane medical experiments on humans. Not only in Unit 731, but also in other units, many military doctors were involved in medical crimes against residents of the areas invaded by the Japanese Army. Inhumane living-body experiments and vivisections were widely conducted at that time. There were, however, a small number of researchers who did not follow the orders to perform human-body experiments. Highlighting the life of such a rare researcher for the purpose of ascertaining the reason for his noncompliance with the order will provide us with insights on medical ethics. When Yokoyama was a student, his teacher, Professor Rinya Kawamura, informed him that he had been requested by the army to conduct special experiments. The remuneration for conducting such experiments was over 10 times more than the research fund allocated to the professor. Kawamura declined the request on the grounds that accepting it was against humanity. Kawamura warned Yokoyama that he might face the same situation in the future and asked Yokoyama to mark his words. Yokoyama was called to Ko-1855 Unit in 1944 and ordered to carry out living-body experiments by his superior officer. He disregarded the order, remembering Kawamura's words. As a result, he was dispatched to the dangerous frontlines. This article explores why Yokoyama was able to disobey the order to conduct inhumane experiments while shedding light on his personal background and his relationship with Rinya Kawamura. This article chronicles the life of one medical researcher who followed the dictates of his conscience during and after the war.