Rabbit Island

Rabbit Island

Joseph Parish

Within the Sea of Japan is a small island known as Ōkunoshima. To get to this island one has to take the local “Habu Shosen” ferry, but once there they will find an abundance of campsites, places of historical interest and numerous walking trails. The common name or this small island is "Rabbit Island," and with good reason, since there are a large number of feral rabbits which freely roam the island. These rabbits are totally tame and will readily approach the visiting humans.

During World War II, Ōkunoshima played a major role as a poison gas factory for a large portion of the mustard gas, chemical warfare which the Japanese carried out against the Chinese people. Many of the previous Japanese gas manufacturing plants are still standing today, but are in a dilapidated condition. Until the Russo-Japanese War, the island served as an agricultural area at which time, ten forts were constructed to protect it from invasion. There were only three fishing families that lived on the island.

The Imperial Japanese Army Institute of Science and Technology in 1925 began a highly secret chemical weapons program to produce such damaging weapons to be used against the United States and Europe. At the time the production and storage of such weapons were not universally banned, however, Japan still went to great lengths to ensure that their actions were masked in secrecy. The fabrication of the chemical weapons plant started in 1929. The Japanese went as far to protect their secret island, and even removed it from the maps at the time. From 1927 to 1929 the plant was under construction, and ultimately produced six kilotons of mustard and tear gas.

The reason the Japanese selected this island was its isolation and its great distance from Tokyo and other areas in the event of a disaster. The Japanese military converted a local fish preservation processor into a toxic gas reactor. Unfortunately, the Japanese military failed to inform the local residents of the island and the potential employees what the risks involved were. They were not informed as to what the plant was developing, while many people in the area eventually suffered from the toxic-exposure of the manufacturing plant.

As the end of the war approached, Japanese officials destroyed most of the documents concerning the plant, while Allied Occupation Forces went on to dispose of the gas itself by dumping it, burning it or burying it. The people involved were told that they must remain silent about the information found concerning the project. It wasn’t until several decades after the facts surfaced about the victims of the toxic plant. These people were provided with government aid and treatment at that time. By 1988 there was an Ōkunoshima Poison Gas Museum opened at the location. The museum consists of only two rooms. This small building provides a basic overview of the plant’s construction, an insight into the working conditions of the employees and a brief education on the effects of poison gas on humans. Within the walls of the museum can be found numerous artifacts donated by the families of the suffering workers. The second room of the museum shows the visitor how the poison gas affects the human body through displays of the lungs, eyes, skin, and heart. The walls are adorned with images from Iraqi and Iranian victims of the chemicals.

There are currently many rabbits residing on the island which were possibly decedents of the original rabbits released on the island after World War II. During the war, the rabbits were used within the Japanese chemical plant to test how effective the weapons were. When the factory was finally demolished the rabbits were supposedly killed, and the government claims that these rabbits today are not related to the originals, however, rumor has it that during World War II there were eight rabbits originally brought to the island of Okunoshima and these eight contributed to the current population. There is no hunting permitted on the island, nor are dogs and cats allowed to be on the island. Although the remains of the old forts and the gas factories are still present on the island the Japanese government prohibits entry to them as it is viewed as far too dangerous of an action. Okunoshima is now known worldwide as "Rabbit Island," where the tourists flock just to feed, cuddle and mingle with the many adorable wild bunnies.

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