Fifty-one Chinese victims of abandoned chemical weapons left by Japanese invading troops in China during World War II were receiving physical examinations in Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The first large-scale physical check was organized and sponsored by a group of Japanese and Chinese lawyers, who are keen on addressing this issue.

The examinations aim to provide thorough details of the victims' current physical condition.

Many innocent civilians, especially those living in northeast China, which was once occupied by Japanese troops from 1931-45, have been injured by the abandoned chemical weapons. In recent years the injuries have often occurred when civilians have accidentally dug up weapons during construction work.

Notably among the 51 being examined, are the 43 victims who were all injured in August 2003 in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, when five barrels of mustard gas were dug up at a construction site.

Two children from Dunhua, Jilin Province, who were injured by the chemical weapons, also joined the checks.

Li Lou, a legal assistant in Tokyo who planned the checks, said they hoped to master the development of the victims' symptoms after their first treatment, and ultimately to set up a health file for the victims.

The victims are now undergoing a series of thorough checks on their skin, respiration and immune systems and vision, with the results expected within a week.

Li Xiaojun, vice-president of the Heilongjiang No. 2 Hospital, said some of the victims' conditions were critical.

Most of the victims have injured their skin to varying extents and have a decline in their immune systems, he said.

Injuries caused by chemical weapons can be healed but there is the potential for a relapse in the future.

"So this is an injury which will haunt them for the rest of their lives," he said.

Li Lou said the group of lawyers would begin their negotiations with the Japanese Government in May, to discuss the issue of compensation.

"The results of the examination will serve as an overview of information on the victims, which we will use to negotiate with them," he said.

He said they would not raise a fixed sum of compensation during the negotiation.

"We don't want a fixed sum of compensation like multi-million yen," he said. "That can only be a temporary safeguard and most of these victims have already spent that sum in their treatment."

"What we want is a life-time safeguard from the Japanese Government, or in other words, to prod it to enact a law to guarantee these victims' sufficient living support," he said.

(China Daily March 23, 2006)