Editor's note: Guan Yang is a journalist and commentator for CGTN. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. 

As a senior CGTN journalist based in northeast China, I've spent years reporting on the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 in the city of Harbin – witnessing decade-long archive unearthings and Hideo Shimizu's 2024 apology, a rare admission from a former Unit 731 member.

The recent release of the film "731," internationally titled "Evil Unbound," is far more than a cinematic event; it is a public reckoning with a history Japan has spent decades trying to erase. Yet its path to global screens reveals a stark truth: The battle to preserve historical memory remains as urgent as ever.

Desperate bid to silence the truth​

The most striking barrier to the release of "Evil Unbound" is Japan's systematic, multi-layered attempt to suppress it – and by extension, the atrocities of Unit 731, the Japanese imperial army unit that secretly carried out sadistic biological and chemical experiments on prisoners and civilians in China between 1936 and 1945.

Tokyo's tactics are not random; they are part of a long-standing pattern of historical revisionism. For decades, Japan has removed references to Unit 731 from textbooks, ensuring younger generations grow up ignorant of their country's role in atrocities that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Globally, it has kept spreading the lie that Unit 731 is a "fabrication" and the film is "anti-Japanese propaganda." These actions are not just about a single movie – they are about erasing a history that contradicts Japan's carefully curated image as a "peace-loving nation."

This denial is deeply dangerous. Its vehement opposition to the film "Evil Unbound" reveals a fear: If the world sees the truth, the myth of Japan's "post-war redemption" will crumble. By silencing the film, Tokyo disrespects not just Unit 731's victims, but the very idea of historical justice – an act that undermines the international order built on learning from World War II (WWII)'s horrors.​​

More than a film – a defense of memory​

Critics who dismiss "Evil Unbound" as "just a movie" miss its core purpose: It turns abstract historical records into visceral, human stories. The film does not rely on sensationalism; it draws on survivor testimonies and archived documents I've seen firsthand at the 731 Exhibition Hall – personal records of Unit members, logs of experiments, and victim accounts that leave no room for denial.

Its power lies in forcing audiences to confront the humanity of those labeled "logs": the men, women, and children who were dissected alive, injected with plague, and frozen to death in the name of "scientific research."​

This is why Japan's obstruction matters. "Evil Unbound" is not an attack on modern Japan; it is a demand that Japan confront its past.

When Hideo Shimizu apologized in 2024, admitting his role in Unit 731's experiments after decades of silence, he proved that even those complicit in atrocities can choose the truth.

Yet Tokyo's actions suggest it prefers silence. This disconnect is indefensible. A nation that claims to uphold human rights cannot simultaneously erase the suffering of hundreds of thousands, nor punish those who seek to remember.​

The film's release in 2025 – the 80th anniversary of WWII's end – is no accident. It arrives at a moment when global attention to historical memory is fading, and authoritarian regimes are increasingly weaponizing misinformation to rewrite the past.

The film's success – despite Japan's obstruction – sends a clear message: The international community will not let Unit 731's crimes be buried. Newly released archives from the 731 Exhibition Hall, including never-before-seen details of the unit's operations, reinforce the film's urgency. These are not "old stories"; they are warnings.​

History has shown that forgetting enables repetition. Unit 731's use of science to dehumanize and kill is a precursor to modern atrocities that exploit technology and ideology to justify violence. "Evil Unbound" does not just honor the dead; it educates the living.

It asks: What responsibility do we have to preserve the truth? For Japan, the answer is clear: Stop blocking films like "Evil Unbound," stop erasing textbooks, and start honoring the victims with an honest reckoning.

The fight for truth is a fight for justice​

The turbulent journey of "Evil Unbound" is a microcosm of the global battle over historical memory. Japan's obstruction reveals its fear of accountability; the film's success reveals the world's hunger for truth. This is not a "Chinese issue" or a "Japanese issue" – it is a human issue. The atrocities of Unit 731 are a stain on humanity, and forgetting them betrays every principle of justice.​

As a journalist who has stood in the 731 Exhibition Hall, staring at the remains of victims and the documents that prove their suffering, I know that "Evil Unbound" is more than a film. It is a promise – to the dead, to the survivors, and to future generations – that we will not let silence win.

Japan's attempt to block it is a failure, not just for the film, but for the idea that history can be rewritten. The truth, as "Evil Unbound" proves, is too powerful to be silenced.

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