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Japanese Official Anticipates Difficulty Meeting Chemical Weapons Removal Deadline in China
Japan expects to have trouble meeting a March 2007 deadline for removing the World War II-era chemical weapons it abandoned in China, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Oct. 21). “We are doing everything in our power, but unfortunately that is all we can say at the moment,” Akira Takamatsu, director general of Tokyo’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons Office, said today. Japanese and Chinese officials are discussing the possible construction of a chemical weapons disposal facility at Haerbaling, China, Reuters reported. Beijing has said there could be up to 2 million chemical armaments left buried on its territory, but Tokyo’s estimates run between 300,000 and 400,000 in northeast China, where a retreating Japanese army abandoned the majority of the weapons. Some 37,000 chemical weapons have been retrieved in other parts of China, according to Reuters. Japanese officials said there could be mixed reaction if Tokyo missed the deadline. “It depends whether you are talking about the government or the Chinese people,” Takamatsu said. “The government, at least those involved in this project, has a good understanding of what we are doing. But the Chinese people get very upset when an accident occurs” (Reuters, Nov. 17)
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