China has noted reports that two Chinese men were seriously beaten in Tokyo, and urged the Japanese side to take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Thursday.

Four unidentified men in their 20s attacked the victims with iron pipes in Chiyoda Ward in Japanese capital Tokyo at around 9 a.m. local time, and fled the scene in a car with a Kansai license plate, Jiji Press reported.

In response, spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a press briefing that China has noted relevant reports, adding that the Chinese Embassy in Japan immediately expressed its concern to the Japanese side and is further verifying the situation.

The two victims, sustaining serious head injuries and bleeding, said they had no prior acquaintance with the attackers, and no demands for money or anything else were made, the report said.

The two Chinese men were walking down the street when the incident happened.

Police were searching for the attackers at the time of reporting.

In response to a query on Wednesday on Japanese abandoned chemical weapons (ACWs) in China, Guo said Japan's ACWs in China mark one of the gravest crimes that Japanese militarists committed during the war of aggression against China.

He added that China has consistently urged Japan to destroy them completely and thoroughly at an early date in strict accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries' governments. "To date, Japan has excavated and retrieved about 160,000 ACWs and destroyed nearly 130,000. However, the destruction process is generally seriously lagging behind schedule."

The spokesperson said that even today, Japanese ACWs continue to pose a serious threat to the safety of the life and property of the Chinese people, as well as to the ecological environment, and Japan bears an unshirkable historical responsibility.

China urges Japan to take seriously the concerns of China and the international community, deeply reflect on its history of aggression, honor its commitments, and increase inputs in all aspects.

"Japan should do everything to speed up the full chain of the disposal of the ACWs, so that the day will come sooner when the Chinese people no longer have to live on soil tainted by ACWs, and when justice is restored to the international community," he said.

(With input from Xinhua)