A Japanese-built chemical weapons destruction plant in Harbaling Village, China’s Jilin Province, in 2014 began neutralizing most of the stockpile of chemical weapons left behind by the Imperial Japanese Army at the end of World War II.
China and Japan are making progress in destroying stockpiles of chemical weapons abandoned by the Imperial Japanese Army in Chinese territory at the end of World War II, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Monday.
Nearly 90,000 abandoned chemical weapons have been declared on Chinese territory in more than 90 locations, the OPCW, based in The Hague, Netherlands, said.
“Of the nearly 90,000 abandoned chemical weapons in China, 60,170 have been destroyed by June 2022,” according to updates from Chinese and Japanese officials, the agency noted with satisfaction in a press release.
The cooperation between China and Japan “also proves the effectiveness and success of the Convention”, said Ambassador Ziad M.D. Al-Attiyah, the chairman of the OPCW Executive Board and permanent representative of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the organization.
A Japanese-built chemical weapons destruction plant in Harbaling Village, China’s Jilin Province, in 2014 began neutralizing most of the stockpile of chemical weapons left behind by the Imperial Japanese Army at the end of World War II.
The chemical weapons destruction facilities are staffed by both Chinese and Japanese workers, marking a rare example of cooperation between the two countries on the highly sensitive issue of Japan’s responsibilities and role in the last world war.
China and Japan signed the United Nations Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997.
Two years later, Beijing and Tokyo signed a memorandum of understanding in which Japan pledged to provide funds, equipment and the necessary specialized personnel to excavate and destroy all abandoned chemical weapons. However, the implementation of this agreement was postponed several times.
Chemical weapons abandoned by the Japanese military have been found in several dozen locations in China, posing a huge threat to the safety of the population and the environment.
Japan proceeded, in cooperation with China and under OPCW rules, to excavate and recover abandoned chemical weapons. After being recovered, these weapons are often temporarily stored in warehouses in China.
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