China Demands Japan To Expedite World War II Chemical Weapon Destruction

China has asked Japan to accelerate destruction of chemical weapons abandoned during World War II.

According to a press statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, “A total of 264 chemical weapons were destroyed in an operation that ended in Wuhan and Hubei province on Monday. The process was started in December 2014. The weapons were left in provinces of Hubei, Hunan and Henan following World War II.”

“Japan had abandoned at least two million tons of chemical weapons at about 40 sites in 15 Chinese provinces at the end of World War II, most of them in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning,” Want China Times reported.

The operation was safe, orderly and successful and eliminated the threat and damage to people, property and the environment, the press release said.

"China urges Japan to increase its human and financial contribution to the destruction of weapons and achieve thorough destruction of those weapons at an early date," it said.

In accordance with the Convention on the Banning of Chemical Weapons and the memorandum on the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons signed by China and Japan in 1999, Japan will offer all necessary funds, technology, expertise and facilities, and China will provide assistance.