Chapter 5 fourth quarter

A lot has been written about the "Imperial Bank Incident" before, so I won't go into details here. At around 3:50 pm on January 26, Showa 23, a middle-aged man came to the Shiinamachi branch of the Imperial Bank with an armband with the "Tokyo Metropolitan" logo on his arm.He said that typhus broke out nearby, and according to the instructions of the occupying army, everyone must drink preventive medicine, so he asked the acting branch manager Yoshida and 16 other people to drink the poison.Acting branch manager Takejiro Yoshida, who had seen the murderer, was later rescued and gave the following testimony:

"Let me tell you about the process of being tricked into drinking poison at the bank. At about four o'clock this afternoon, we finished our daily business and were checking out. A man in a suit, about forty-five or sixteen years old, pushed open the wicket next to the gate and walked out. He came in. The man had a white cloth wrapped around his left arm with the red logo of 'Tokyo Metropolitan Government' printed on it. He handed us a business card and said: 'I'm from Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Where's the branch manager?' I said:' The branch manager is not here, I'm the acting branch manager?" The man handed me a business card that said Tokyo Metropolitan Health Department and Doctor, Doctor of Medicine—I can't remember the name. I invited the man into the office and called him Sitting on a chair next to me. He said, 'The thing is this: Due to the use of the well in front of Aida's house in 2-chome, Nagasaki, an epidemic of dysentery occurred, and four residents were infected, and the police have probably been reported. After receiving the report, Lieutenant Hetke of the headquarters said: "This is terrible, I will go right away, you go first. "I ran to investigate and found out that the person who lived in that house had visited your bank today. Lieutenant Hetke led the disinfection team and came afterward. I decided to ask you to drink preventive medicine before disinfection." I said: "How did you know it so quickly?" The man said, "The doctor who saw the doctor reported it directly to the US military headquarters."

"He also said: 'The disinfection team will be here soon, please drink this medicine first. This is a special medicine issued by the US General Command, and it is very strong.' Then he took out a one-inch wide, five-inch long, The metal box that doctors usually use, and the handyman brought all the cups after washing. The man said: "This medicine will damage the enamel on the teeth. I will teach you how to drink it. Please drink it like me." There are two kinds of medicine. After drinking one kind, drink the second kind after a minute.” He took out a small bottle and a glass tube with a rubber bag for taking medicine. The medicine has no The color is just a little cloudy. The man used a glass tube to share a little into each cup. He stretched out his tongue as much as possible, wrapped the first medicine in his tongue and drank it for us to see. The staff all imitated his example and drank it. Yes. The medicine is very irritating, like a person who does not know how to drink after drinking strong alcohol. He feels hot and uncomfortable. After a minute, he gave us the second medicine. I went to the well I rinsed my mouth, and as soon as I walked back, I saw everyone fell down one by one. I thought to myself, 'Oops', and walked to my seat, and soon passed out. The man was wearing a pair of ocher-red rubber boots, with He is handsome, like an intellectual. As a doctor, I think his hands are a bit clumsy. The armband is made of white cloth, with the red logo of "Tokyo Metropolis" printed on it, and the words "Epidemic Prevention" are vigorously written in ink below. Disinfection class' a few words."

The name of the head of the occupying forces mentioned in his testimony was originally Lieutenant Hetke, but was later corrected to "Hernett or Cornett, I remember."

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