Accountability for Japanese war crimes sought

Detailed summary

An academic symposium held in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, attracted scholars and experts to discuss newly discovered evidence and findings related to bacteriological and…

An academic symposium held in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, attracted scholars and experts to discuss newly discovered evidence and findings related to bacteriological and chemical warfare crimes during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

The symposium, titled "Remembering History • Safeguarding Justice — Symposium on the Atrocities of the Imperial Japanese Army's Bacteriological and Chemical Warfare," was co-hosted by the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army from Monday to Wednesday.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials.

Scholars and experts from research institutes, universities and museums across the country focused on current hazards of abandoned chemical weapons, redress for war victims and international narratives of historical crimes, aiming to solidify historical evidence, call for justice and urge the Japanese government to fulfill its international legal obligations by accelerating the disposal of abandoned chemical weapons in China.

Jin Shicheng, a researcher at the Unit 731 Museum, released new research based on archives of the Imperial Japanese Army's Units 731 and 516.

He revealed the existence of Unit 516's cleanup team, which was responsible for handling chemical weapons after Japan's defeat.

"The team of about 70 members was tasked with transporting, burying and abandoning chemical weapons, providing a potential breakthrough for uncovering burial sites," he said.

Despite the end of warfare, the large quantities of chemical weapons abandoned by the Japanese army across China continue to pose severe threats to the safety of Chinese people's lives, property and the ecological environment.

Gao Xiaoyan, a researcher from the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, reconstructed the complete chain of Japanese chemical warfare through years of…

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