I have never encountered this notion, and I have to believe Mr. Postman is mistaken, re Susuma Tonegawa, for many reasons. Partially because the quotes attributed to Dr. Tonegawa don't really make any sense, but primarily because those quotes don't show up in any searches, and if he had come out publicly and said those things it would have caused an easily searchable uproar. Also WWII-era Japan was not hampered by a lack of technological capability, they were hampered by a lack of natural resources like iron and oil and coal.