Q: On May 15, a Tokyo court ruled in favor of Japan in the first-instance trial of a lawsuit accusing Japan of abandoning biochemical weapons during the war of aggression against China. The plaintiffs, Zhang Yan, and other four other Chinese from Baiquan County of China’s Heilongjiang Province, lost the lawsuit on the grounds that the state is not responsible for their compensation. What is the comment on this from the Chinese side?

A: During the war of aggression against China, Japan, in violation of international laws, made experiments and used biochemical weapons on many occasions and committed very cruel and inhumane crimes against the Chinese people. Before being defeated, the Japanese army in China abandoned large amounts of biochemical weapons in China and brought new damage to the Chinese people during the peace time after the war. The Japanese Government shoulders unshirkable responsibility of solving this issue left by the war.

The Chinese Government has repeatedly made clear to the Japanese Government its stance on the issue. We once again ask the Japanese side to adopt a responsible attitude to history and earnestly and properly solve the issue.