A new medical history museum in Fukuoka faced the area's dark wartime past on Saturday by using its grand opening to finally address the infamous live dissections of U.S. prisoners of war that took place at Kyushu University's medical school.

The museum, built on the university's campus in Higashi Ward, has a total of 63 items on display detailing over a century of the school's history, including patient records and medical equipment. Two items refer to the vivisections, including a panel explaining the gruesome episode.

Although the Allied war crimes tribunal denied the university itself was systemically involved in the atrocity despite convicting 14 of its staff, the school had nevertheless treated the topic as a taboo and avoided mentioning it in public over the years.