Unit 8604 (広州第8604部隊) was the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department unit of the Japanese Southern China Area Army. It allegedly secretly researched biological warfare and other topics through human experimentation during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and World War II era. It was formed in Canton (Guangzhou), a city in southern China, and headquartered at Chungshan Medical University (Hal Gold, Unit 731 Testimony, 2003, p. 50).