A new group of Chinese victims of chemical weapons left behind by Japanese troops during World War II will file a suit against the Japanese Government seeking an official apology and compensation.

Some 40 victims of last August's mustard gas exposure tragedy in Qiqihar in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province signed power of attorneys with Chinese lawyers on Sunday and yesterday, entrusting them in a joint legal action.

A victim lies on the bed at a hospital in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province. At least 36 Chinese people were injured by the chemical weapons left over by the Japanese army in World War II at a construction site in Qiqihar on April 4. [Xinhua]

"What matters is not how much money we will get in compensation, but how the Japanese Government will face its history," said Su Xiangxiang, a lawyer who will take the case and has been fighting for the right of thousands of Chinese victims of Japanese invasion for nearly a decade.

Under increasing pressure from the Chinese Government, the Japanese Government last year agreed to give 300 million yen (US$2.56 million) to 44 victims of the August 4 accident in which one died 17 days later. The payment was made by the end of last year.

"But the Japanese Government has never admitted its mistakes in the war, and the purpose of the payment is ambiguous," said Su.

"The aim of the non-governmental action is to urge the Japanese Government to assume its responsibility on a legal basis, and to win back our dignity."

With the co-operation of Japanese lawyers, a statement of claim will first be presented to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his cabinet.

If the government does not meet the demands and agrees to negotiate the matter, the Japanese lawyers will bring action to a Japanese court on the behalf of the Chinese victims, said Su.

Su said the other goal is to urge the Japanese Government to disclose information on where its military buried hundreds of thousands of chemical weapons.

Following their World War II defeat, the Japanese army left behind large quantities of unused chemical weapons in China.

More than 2,000 people have been injured by these weapons to date.

A total of 3,600 poison gas bombs and shells have been located in China by Japanese officials called in to clear them.

But that leaves an estimated 700,000-plus chemical munitions still left by Japan, which has an obligation to remove them within 10 years, under the terms of the Convention for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which came into effect in April 1997.

"The Japanese government should check with all its World War II soldiers who buried the chemical weapons, in order to find out all locations and prevent further accidents," Su said.

He declined to predict the prospect of winning the case as actions brought against the Japanese Government arising out of atrocities committed in Asia during the 1930s and 40s have a track record of failure in the Japanese courts.

Still, there was a breakthrough came on September 29 last year when the Tokyo District Court supported 13 Chinese plaintiffs' claims in another case. The 13 demanded the Japanese Government pay 190 million yen (US$1.6 million) in damages.

That case has moved to the Japanese Supreme Court and a final decision will be made in April.

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