This paper aims to examine the spread of Manchurian plague and the
response of the Japanese colonial government. Previous studies of this issue
stressed the successful, albeit forced, preventative measures taken by the
Japanese colonial government. However, this paper argues that Western powers
did not agree with the new theory that pneumonic plague was transmitted
through respiratory infections, as discovered by Wu Liande and promoted by
Kitasato Shibasaburo. They continued to believe the old Japanese theory that
the plague was transmitted through fleas from rodents. The Japanese colonial
government focused on reducing the rat population to prevent the spread of
plague. Moreover, they had no quarantine hospitals or other equipment, and
epidemic prevention programs and measures were inadequate. The success of
their efforts was due less to the measures taken by the Japanese colonial government
than from the low influx of Chinese laborers into Korea.