WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― The U.S. government confirmed Tuesday it has more than doubled the number of suspected Japanese war criminals who are banned from entering the country.

In 1996, the Department of Justice created the so-called “watchlist” of 16 Japanese alleged to have committed crimes against humanity during World War II.

The department has since expanded the list.

“The total number placed on the watchlist is 35,” Peter Carr, Department of Justice spokesman, told Yonhap in an emailed reply.

The department would not reveal the names of those who are on the blacklist.

Diplomatic sources said many of them are former members of a notorious Japanese military unit that conducted biological experiments on war prisoners, and those who were involved in the sexual enslavement of Korean and other Asian women for Japanese troops.