THE TIMES OF INDIA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2003

Japan to clean up WW II weapons leftover in China

PTI

BEIJING: The Japanese government has sent a task force to China to clean up
chemical weapons left by Japanese troops during World War II in North
China's Hebei province, a report said on Saturday.

The 40-member task force would search for the chemical weapons left by the
Japanese army during the War of Resistance against Japan (1937-1945) in
Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, China Daily quoted sources from the
Japanese embassy here as saying.

They would search for and retrieve a suspected 52 toxic bombs in the area
and seal them in cases of leakage, an embassy official said without giving
details about the final disposal of the chemical weapons.

The task force consisting of government officials and chemical weapons
disposal experts would begin their work today, the official said, adding,
the mission is scheduled to last two weeks.

Sino-Japanese talks were held in Beijing to decide on the compensation to be
paid for the damage caused by the leakage of mustard gas in Gigihar,
Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

The officials failed to arrive at a consensus and a new round of discussions
is expected to take place.

Meanwhile, a report published in Japan's Daily Yomiuri newspaper said $36
million will be paid in the name of "condolence" payments and not as
"compensation" for the victims.

Japanese embassy officials, however, denied the report, China Daily
reported.

Copyright © 2003 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.