Published on: 2026-08-28
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Beijing, August 28 /Xinhua/ — China urges the Japanese government to accelerate the disposal process of the abandoned chemical weapons and to restore a safe living environment for the Chinese people as soon as possible. This was stated on Friday by the official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Lin Jian.
It has been reported that a civilian group in Japan organized an exhibition in the city of Yokohama exposing the production and use of poisonous substances by the Japanese military during World War II, as well as their waging of chemical warfare against China and Southeast Asian countries. After Japan’s surrender, some chemical weapons were left in China, continuing to harm the local population.
Responding to a relevant question from the media at a regular briefing for journalists, the Chinese diplomat pointed out that during the years of World War II, Japanese militarists extensively developed and used chemical weapons in China and other Asian countries, which is a gross violation of international law and caused incalculable suffering to many states.
According to Lin Qiang, in China alone, over 2,000 cases of chemical weapon use by Japanese troops have been recorded, resulting in more than 200,000 Chinese military personnel and civilians being affected.
As he noted, after Japan’s surrender, in an attempt to conceal their crimes, the Japanese side left a large amount of chemical weapons on Chinese territory, which has already caused more than 2,000 casualties and poses a serious threat to the lives of the Chinese people and the ecological environment.
A representative of the Chinese foreign affairs department emphasized that the Japanese government demonstrated insufficient sincerity and allocated insufficient resources in fulfilling its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention regarding the complete destruction of the remaining chemical weapons, and the process of their disposal is seriously behind schedule.
Lin Jian emphasized that the Chinese side strongly urges the Japanese government to fulfill its obligations under the relevant convention, listen to the fair calls of reasonable people in its own country and in the affected neighboring states, and comprehensively and conscientiously fulfill the requirements of the international convention and the memorandum of understanding between the governments of the two countries, in order to accelerate the destruction process.
“The elimination of hazardous abandoned chemical weapons is an unwavering historical responsibility of the Japanese government and its due obligation under international law,” concluded the Chinese diplomat.
Please note; This information is raw content received directly from the information source. It is an accurate account of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.