The Japan Times
August 12, 2003

Exposure to Japanese mustard gas leaves two 'close to death' in China

BEIJING (AP) Tokyo has sent experts to investigate drums of poison gas thought to have been left by the Japanese army after World War II that sickened dozens of people in northeastern China last week, a Japanese official said Monday.

Two people were "close to death" with breathing problems after exposure to the gas in the city of Qiqihar, the state newspaper China Daily said. It said 32 others were hospitalized, including one man with chemical burns on 95 percent of his body.

The poison, believed to be mustard gas, was released on Aug. 4 after construction workers unearthed the five drums at a building site.

"A group from the (Japanese) chemical weapons disposal team has been sent to Qiqihar and they are investigating," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, who was in Beijing on a previously scheduled visit to meet with Chinese leaders.

"If it turns out that this incident came from the former Japanese army, then I think it is necessary that we handle the case accordingly," Fukuda said.

He offered no other details, and the Japanese Embassy in Beijing referred questions to a spokesman who wasn't immediately available.

Japanese officials say about 700,000 chemical weapons remain in China from the Japanese occupation. Japanese use of chemical and biological warfare agents in China still stirs anger and resentment among many Chinese, who feel that Japan has never fully atoned for its atrocities.

Lawyers representing Chinese plaintiffs in other cases against the Japanese government say leaking chemical weapons have caused some 2,000 deaths since the war.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was negotiating with Japanese officials over unspecified compensation for the people injured in Qiqihar.

A delegation led by a senior Japanese diplomat went to Qiqihar on Saturday, state media reported. The officials examined a warehouse where the canisters were stored and visited victims, according to the People's Daily Web site.