From August 31 to September 5, the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ("OPCW" for short) and the Executive Council delegation went to Hunchun, Harbaling and Dunhua in Jilin to inspect the excavation, recovery and destruction of abandoned chemical weapons in Japan.
Sources told the Global Times reporter that through this visit, all parties have further realized the serious and practical harm caused by Japanese chemical weapons to the lives and property of the Chinese people and the ecological environment. They have gained an objective understanding of the so-called "huge effort" and "contribution" made by Japan. They support the OPCW in accordance with the provisions of the "Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons" (referred to as the "Convention") and urge Japan to earnestly fulfill its responsibilities, comprehensively, cleanly and completely destroy the chemical weapons abandoned in China as soon as possible, and return pure land to the Chinese people as soon as possible.
According to the Global Times reporter, in order to assist the OPCW Executive Council in exercising its supervisory authority over the destruction of Japanese relics of chemical weapons, China has invited a delegation from the OPCW Executive Council to China since 2013 to inspect the handling of Japanese relics of chemical weapons. Sources told the Global Times reporter that this is the seventh visit to China by the OPCW delegation, which is composed of OPCW Director-General Sabrina Darafiore, Executive Council Chairperson Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW, and envoys from 12 other countries.
"The OPCW Executive Council delegation visited China for the seventh time and inspected the handling of Japanese relics of chemical weapons. This deeply reflects the high level of concern and continuous supervision of the organization and the international community on the issue of Japanese relics of chemical weapons." Zhang Gaosheng, an assistant researcher at the Institute of World Peace and Security of the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times reporter that as the executive agency of the OPCW, the visit of the Executive Council delegation to China is the specific operation of the supervision and verification mechanism of the Convention, aiming to urge Japan to effectively implement the agreement. This demonstrates the maintenance of the legal authority of the Convention.
According to information obtained by Global Times reporters, since the end of World War II, Japanese chemical weapons have caused more than 2,000 poisoning casualties, causing serious harm to the lives and property of the Chinese people and the safety of the ecological environment. The Chemical Weapons Convention, which came into effect in 1997, clearly stipulates that "States Parties undertake to destroy all chemical weapons left behind on the territory of another State Party in accordance with the provisions of this Convention" and "in order to destroy the chemical weapons left behind, the State Party that left behind shall provide all necessary financial, technical, expert, facilities and other resources." It also stipulates that Japan, as the abandoning country, is obliged to provide information on the burial clues of abandoned chemical weapons. The Convention also sets out a time frame for the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons. The above provisions constitute the basis of international law for dealing with the issue of Japanese chemical weapons.
China and Japan are both parties to the Convention, and in July 1999 they signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Japan on the Destruction of Japan's Abandoned Chemical Weapons in China. In the memorandum, the Japanese government stated that it assumes the responsibilities and obligations of the abandoning country and is committed to destroying all chemical weapons abandoned in China in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.
As an abandoning country, Japan should earnestly assume its international obligations and political responsibilities, and in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention and the decisions of the OPCW Executive Council, and under the effective supervision and verification of the OPCW, Japan should completely destroy Japanese relics of chemical weapons as soon as possible.
However, according to the Global Times, the Convention has been in effect for nearly 30 years. Although some progress has been made in the destruction of Japanese relics of chemical weapons so far, it still faces severe and outstanding challenges. The specific manifestation is that the destruction process is seriously lagging behind. The Convention stipulates that Japan should complete the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons within 2007, and also sets a five-year grace period. Due to insufficient attention and insufficient investment from the Japanese side, the destruction plan was overdue four times in 2007, 2012, 2016, and 2022.
Zhang Gaosheng told a reporter from the Global Times that the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons is an obligation under international law that Japan must fulfill. Japan has repeatedly breached the contract, and its destruction work has been overdue four times, which exposed Japan's strategic ambiguity and political calculations on the issue of contract performance and seriously damaged its self-proclaimed international credibility.
In addition, Japan has so far not provided comprehensive, detailed and accurate information on clues to the chemical weapons left behind by Japan. It is understood that Japanese chemical weapons can only be passively discovered and dealt with urgently, which greatly increases the risk of injury and seriously delays the progress of disposal. Excavation and recycling operations in Jiamusi, Mudanjiang, Shangzhi, Hunchun and other areas have not yet been completed. Japan has not yet shown sufficient political determination to break through technical bottlenecks such as water exploration and recovery and underground detection. Japan is even more evasive on the issue of contaminated soil treatment. The Japanese chemical weapons have been buried underground for decades, and most of the projectiles have corroded, causing serious pollution to soil and water due to leakage of poisons or damage and fragmentation of gas canisters. This risk is increasing year by year.
Zhang Gaosheng further said that Japanese relics of chemical weapons have been found in 18 provinces and regions in China. The rust and leakage of the missiles continue to threaten people's lives and cause ecological hazards such as arsenic contamination of soil and water. The risk is particularly prominent in large burial sites such as Harbal Ridge. The delegation visited the site and intuitively felt the threat of Japanese relics of chemical weapons to personal safety and the ecological environment, confirmed the practical urgency of eliminating the hidden dangers of Japanese relics of chemical weapons, urged Japan to increase investment in funds, technology, and manpower, effectively implement the destruction plan, and promote the fair solution of historical war hazards.
The issue of Japanese chemical weapons is a direct product of Japan's history of militaristic aggression. It is also considered an important touchstone to test whether Japan can truly reflect on its history and fulfill its international responsibilities.
Zhang Gaosheng analyzed that the incomplete historical liquidation has led to serious distortions in Japan's historical understanding, and is the fundamental reason why Japan has not fulfilled its responsibility for comprehensive and complete destruction. During the post-war Tokyo Trial period, due to the influence of the Cold War, the Japanese military's chemical warfare crimes were not completely liquidated, and a large number of chemical warfare files were destroyed and concealed. There has long been a social trend in Japanese society that denies and downplays the Japanese military's chemical warfare crimes. Some public opinion concocts false claims such as "the weapons have been handed over to China and were not abandoned by Japan" in an attempt to shirk national responsibility. This historical cognitive bias has been transmitted to the government's compliance level: Japan regards the destruction work as a diplomatic burden rather than the country's atonement obligation to fulfill its war crimes responsibilities. The priority of project budget and staffing is low, and it lacks the inherent political motivation to promote destruction. Although some Japanese veterans testified in court and confirmed the historical facts of their involvement in burying and discarding poison bombs, they failed to change the overall negative attitude of the Japanese government. This also echoes the fact that the Japanese right wing has become increasingly rampant in recent years and continues to promote a more covert and deceptive "new type of militarism". It is a fundamental distortion of the historical understanding of World War II.
Zhang Gaosheng further stated that Japan should earnestly implement its commitments to fulfill the treaty, face up to its international legal obligations and historical culpability, increase investment in funds, equipment, and professional manpower, fully disclose archival information on the production, deployment, and abandonment of wartime chemical weapons, and eliminate the hazards of Japanese relics of chemical weapons as soon as possible. At the same time, the international community should support the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in performing its supervisory and verification functions, continue to track and evaluate the entire process of excavation, destruction, and pollution control of Japanese relics of chemical weapons, and improve the transparency of Japan's implementation of the treaty.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference on the 7th that this visit coincides with the Victory Day of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Back then, Japanese militarists launched an invasion of China, which brought serious humanitarian disasters and left behind the historical poison of Japanese chemical weapons. Through the visit, all parties further recognized the serious harm caused by the chemical weapons abandoned by Japan to the Chinese people's lives and property and the ecological environment, supported the OPCW in accordance with the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and urged Japan to fulfill its responsibilities as early as possible, comprehensively, cleanly and completely destroy the chemical weapons abandoned in China, return the pure land to the Chinese people at an early date, and achieve the lofty goal of "a world free of chemical weapons" set out in the Convention.
