Japan moves on chemical arms
Source: Xinhua |
September 2, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Japanese government announced yesterday that it had started destroying chemical weapons abandoned in China during World War II.
Hideo Hiraoka, senior vice minister of Japan's Cabinet office, made the announcement on behalf of the Japanese government at a ceremony marking the start of the destruction work in the suburbs of the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing.
He said the Japanese government had been working to remove the abandoned chemical weapons in light of the Chemical Weapons Convention and memoranda signed between the Japanese and Chinese governments.
"Today's move marks a new phase in the disposal of abandoned chemical weapons in China, in which the work has shifted from excavation and recovery to destruction," Hiraoka declared.
Zhang Zhijun, the representative of the Chinese government and vice foreign minister, said at the ceremony that Japanese troops had committed a serious crime by abandoning chemical weapons in China during WWII.
Zhang said China had been urging Japan to completely destroy its abandoned chemical weapons in the country as soon as possible, and had actively offered assistance to Japan in destroying them.
"Today's move marks the start of an important new phase in the disposal work," he said.
Japanese troops left their chemical weapons mostly in China's northeast. The chemical weapons have also been found in the country's eastern, central and southern areas.
Before surrendering toward the end of the WWII in 1945, Japanese soldiers abandoned or buried a huge number of poisonous gas shells, which have threatened the health of local residents and ecological environment, Chinese authorities have said.
In August 2003, leaks from a mustard gas canister abandoned by Japanese troops killed a man and injured more than 40 people after it was accidentally damaged at a construction site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province.
Last month, police discovered more than 400 shells at construction sites and deserted factories across Qiqihar. The city was the base of Japanese chemical weapons chemical research units 516 and 526 from 1931 to 1945, said Zhang Ronghui, deputy director of Qiqihar's police department.
It has been "a heavy burden" on local governments to store and destroy the retrieved weapons and shells, Zhang Ronghui said.
Japanese troops occupied Nanjing on December 13, 1937, and launched a six-week massacre. Chinese records show more than 300,000 people, not only disarmed soldiers, but also civilians, were killed.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of Japan's surrender in WWII.
Hideo Hiraoka, senior vice minister of Japan's Cabinet office, made the announcement on behalf of the Japanese government at a ceremony marking the start of the destruction work in the suburbs of the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing.
He said the Japanese government had been working to remove the abandoned chemical weapons in light of the Chemical Weapons Convention and memoranda signed between the Japanese and Chinese governments.
"Today's move marks a new phase in the disposal of abandoned chemical weapons in China, in which the work has shifted from excavation and recovery to destruction," Hiraoka declared.
Zhang Zhijun, the representative of the Chinese government and vice foreign minister, said at the ceremony that Japanese troops had committed a serious crime by abandoning chemical weapons in China during WWII.
Zhang said China had been urging Japan to completely destroy its abandoned chemical weapons in the country as soon as possible, and had actively offered assistance to Japan in destroying them.
"Today's move marks the start of an important new phase in the disposal work," he said.
Japanese troops left their chemical weapons mostly in China's northeast. The chemical weapons have also been found in the country's eastern, central and southern areas.
Before surrendering toward the end of the WWII in 1945, Japanese soldiers abandoned or buried a huge number of poisonous gas shells, which have threatened the health of local residents and ecological environment, Chinese authorities have said.
In August 2003, leaks from a mustard gas canister abandoned by Japanese troops killed a man and injured more than 40 people after it was accidentally damaged at a construction site in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province.
Last month, police discovered more than 400 shells at construction sites and deserted factories across Qiqihar. The city was the base of Japanese chemical weapons chemical research units 516 and 526 from 1931 to 1945, said Zhang Ronghui, deputy director of Qiqihar's police department.
It has been "a heavy burden" on local governments to store and destroy the retrieved weapons and shells, Zhang Ronghui said.
Japanese troops occupied Nanjing on December 13, 1937, and launched a six-week massacre. Chinese records show more than 300,000 people, not only disarmed soldiers, but also civilians, were killed.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of Japan's surrender in WWII.
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