China urges Japan to make all-out efforts to expedite disposal of abandoned chemical weapons

China urged Japan to make all-out efforts to destroy the abandoned chemical weapons thoroughly in a clean manner and at an early date, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said on Friday.

Jiang made the remarks at a press conference while introducing the white paper, China's Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation in the New Era.

Jiang slammed Japan for its lack of proactive efforts, which has severely delayed the overall disposal process of the chemical weapons it abandoned in China during its period of aggression.

During the war of aggression against China, in blatant violation of international law, Japanese militarists used a large number of chemical weapons, causing over 200,000 Chinese military and civilian casualties, he said.

To cover up its crime after being defeated, the Japanese side abandoned many chemical weapons on Chinese territory, poisoning over 2,000 people, Jiang said, adding that these chemical weapons continue to jeopardize the safety of Chinese people's lives and property and harm the environment.

China urged Japan to make all-out efforts to expedite the disposal process, collect and provide information about the abandoned chemical weapons for the Chinese side in a timely manner, fully assist Chinese in leads search and identification, and shoulder its responsibility in the treatment of polluted water and soil, he said.

(With input from Xinhua)