Japanese official on chemical weapons cleanup in China ( 2003-12-07 09:39) (china.org.cn)
Chinese and Japanese working teams have recently completed sealing up 724
pieces of chemical weapons along with five barrels of mustard gas that had
killed one person and injured 43 others after workers began excavating a
construction site on August 4. The weapons were left by Japanese troops at the
end of the World War II (WWII) in Qiqihar City of Heilongjiang Province.
It was reported that UN officials joined the Chinese and Japanese personnel
to monitor operations at the scene.
Here follows an interview between a correspondent from Shanghai-based
Oriental Outlook magazine and a Japanese government official, the first
interview conducted on the issue of Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China
between the Chinese media and a Japan official representative.
Oriental Outlook: What progress has been made in the disposal of chemical
weapons left over in China by Japanese troops?
S: As everybody knows, our work of destroying Japanese-abandoned chemical
weapons in China is being carried out under international and Japan-Chinese
bilateral instruments, namely, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC, 1997) and
the Memorandum on the Destruction of Japanese Discarded Chemical Weapons in
China signed on July 30, 1999 between the governments of the People's Republic
of China and Japan.
To promote the work of destroying Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in
China, the Japanese government established an office exclusively for the
disposal of Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China in the Cabinet directly
under the jurisdiction of the prime minister. In addition, the Japanese Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and its Defense Agency also assigned coordinating personnel
for the issue of Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons. The Chinese government
also set up a special office for the issue under the Asian Department of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the counterpart of the Japanese office.
The foreign ministries of both countries annually convene a Japanese-Chinese
joint working group meeting, which decides major jobs of the year. Because the
disposal of Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China is an unprecedented
undertaking in history, it was not until one and a half years after the
establishment of the special Japanese office that we began our investigations
with the assistance of China. And more substantial work started in September
2000 when we embarked on the mass excavation of chemical bombs dumped in Bei'an
City, Heilongjiang Province.
From then on we carried out a series of excavations on a pretty large scale
in different parts of China, such as Nanjing, Songwu County of Heihe City in
Heilongjiang Province and Luquan City in Hebei Province, just to name a few of
them.
A total of 36,000 chemical weapons including bombs, poisonous fume pipes and
iron barrels containing chemical preparations have been retrieved and put under
temporary safekeeping. To be specific, the weapons were first dug up from the
soil and then, as some of them had aged, rusted or been leaking chemical
reparations, and some others had explosive attachments or engines with them,
they were washed, detoxified of outer covering or had their engines removed.
Following safety treatment they were examined with X-rays to see whether they
were left over by Japanese troops or not. The identified Japanese chemical
weapons were to be sealed up and placed in temporary storage.
The retrieval I just mentioned refers to the whole process from safety
treatment through to storage.
Oriental Outlook: How many Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons did the
Japanese government retrieve and dispose of in the past number of years?
S: 360,000. Actually, the retrieved chemical weapons haven't yet been
destroyed because decisions haven't been made on what technologies should be
adopted for their destruction. What we have done are preparations for
detoxification. The Japanese and Chinese sides meet monthly to discuss how to
dispose of these chemical weapons and what environmental standards should be
complied with.
Why does the conferring between Japan and China take so much time? It's
because the work has no precedent in human history. So many chemical weapons
were dumped in the soil for such a long time. Nothing similar has happened in
any other countries in the world. If there were precedents we could acquire some
experience. Furthermore, the components of Japanese chemical weapons are
different from those of American and Russian ones. In view of this, pioneering
work has to be done in the research of technologies for destruction.
What have been done include: cremation has been decided as the approach to
destroy "red bombs" and "yellow bombs," which account for the major part of
Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China and meanwhile both parties are
studying what technologies should be used for the destruction of other abandoned
chemical weapons; moreover, both parties have agreed to build a center for the
destruction of the retrieved chemical weapons in the area of Ha'erba Ridge in
Dunhua City, Jilin Province. Strictly speaking, the area is not mountainous but
hilly. Some 670,000 chemical weapons were dumped in the area, which is the place
with the most Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China. Up to now both
parties have been talking over what equipment should be used for excavation and
storage of the chemical weapons in the area and a rough consensus has been
reached on the issue.
The State Environmental Protection Administration of China, with help from
Japan, is now working on environmental standards for the destruction of
Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China.
Oriental Outlook: Opinions vary on the exact number of Japanese-abandoned
chemical weapons in China. Chinese scholars say there are at least 2 million
pieces, whereas Japan says the number should be about 700,000. How do you view
the disagreement?
S: Now Japan believes that the number of the abandoned Japanese chemical
weapons is about 700,000. The result of investigations in the Ha'erba Ridge area
tells that 670,000 chemical weapons were dumped there. And we, in light of
various information offered by China, made a summing-up that another 30,000
chemical weapons were dumped in other places in China.
The number of the chemical weapons dumped in the Ha'erba Ridge area, 670,000,
was worked out in 1996. We first used metal detector to detect the gross volume
of the dumped chemical weapons and after that we did trial excavations, which
gave the number per unit volume of them. The figure of 670,000 was obtained by
multiplying the number per unit volume and the gross volume together.
Japan also knows that China, according to historical records, acknowledges
the number of Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China to be 2 million. I
wouldn't comment on the figure and I've never spoken about its trustworthiness.
The exact figure cannot be obtained until real field excavations are done. To
avoid misunderstandings I need to make it clear that no matter what the number
is, 700,000 or 2 million or a figure in between, Japan will take the
responsibility to destroy the last chemical weapon identified as abandoned by
Japanese troops.
Oriental Outlook: Can you complete your mission by the year 2007? If you
cannot, will you apply for extending the time limit?
S: Now we are working in earnest for the complete destruction of
Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China by 2007 as specified in the
Chemical Weapons Convention and the Memorandum on the Destruction of Japanese
Discarded Chemical Weapons in China. As for the issue of a delay, we think now
it's too early to consider it because we are making sincere efforts.
Previous excavations and retrievals were basically done by humans.
Considering that there are as many as 670,000 chemical bombs in the Ha'erba
Ridge area, we are thinking of using automatic excavators to do excavations
because manual operations will take a longer time. We are now developing those
machines.
Oriental Outlook: Are you certain of finishing the job by 2007?
S: We hope so. And we know we don't have much time left before 2007.
Oriental Outlook: What plans has the Japanese government got for chemical
weapons disposal in the near future? How much money will it budget for the
disposal program?
S: To be brief, we'll first prepare facilities for the early excavation and
retrieval of 670,000 chemical weapons in the Ha'erba Ridge area. In the
meantime, we'll build the destruction center. The center will experience a trial
operation before mass destruction operations.
Now it's hard to estimate the budget but it must be enormous. By the way, we
have applied 21.1 billion yen (US$192.395 million) for the next accounting year
from April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2004 and the total budget for the past five
years was 60 billion yen (US$547.096 million).
We have become deeply conscious that it costs much more time and money to
destroy them than to have produced them.
Oriental Outlook: When will the destruction center begin to be built?
S: Research hasn't finished on some technology to be adopted at the center
and the design will begin as soon as the research is finished. I've said that as
we will dispose of an unprecedented number of chemical weapons in world history
we are doing relative experiments for the sake of the safety of both personnel
and the environment.
Oriental Outlook: Now the Chinese people are very dissatisfied with the
apparent tardy manner of Japan in disposing of its chemical weapons. What do you
think about this?
S: Just now I said the disposal of Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in
China is an unprecedented job in history and work can only be set after full
consideration has been taken of the affects on the safety of personnel as well
as the environment. For these reasons the Japanese and Chinese sides have always
explored their way carefully. I cannot deny what we've already done. And we
still need some time. The Japanese side knows this very well.
It can well be imagined what kind of feelings the Chinese people harbor
toward the issue of Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China following the
August 4 poisoning incident in Qiqihar this summer. To prevent a recurrence of
such an accident in the future we need to quicken our pace.
Oriental Outlook: So far the Japanese government hasn't yet disclosed the
detailed conditions of the Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China and this
is one reason for the occurrence of the August 4 poisoning accident in Qiqihar.
S: Japan would be very pleased to offer relative information to China if it
had it. But such information is not available just now. All of the several
previous information gatherings failed. Now we have to depend on the Chinese
government to provide information to us for the disposal of the chemical
weapons.
Oriental Outlook: The Japanese troops invading China in WWII should be very
clear about the locations of the stashes of their abandoned chemical weapons
upon their retreat in defeat from China at the end of the WWII.
S: Everything was in chaos in WWII. I'm afraid there was no data arranged at
that time and even if, would have been lost by now.
Oriental Outlook: I'd like to ask again: can it be reported that the Japanese
side pledges to complete its mission of destroying chemical weapons it abandoned
in China by 2007?
S: Please say it this way: The Japanese side is making conscientious efforts
to accomplish its mission by 2007.