ABSTRACT
Japanese troops occupied Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, in northern Manchuria, on 5 February 1932. Ishii and his confederates arrived in the fear-ridden city a few months later. Once settled in Harbin, Dr Ishii did not find it difficult to launch his BW project. The Kwantung Army now was more completely dominated by the ultra-nationalists than ever before. And after the recent triumph of Japanese arms in the northeast, the junior and middle-level officers were so powerful that the High Command was in no position to defy their wishes. Moreover, Ishii retained the confidence and support of his influential friends in Tokyo and in the upper echelons of the K wan tung Army.
