Victims suffering from exposure to chemical weapons abandoned in China by Japanese aggression troops during World War II on Friday urged the Japanese government to apologize and provide them with support.

Six victims from Qiqihar, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, including three children, and their families presented a written demand to Japanese Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa, asking Japan for various forms of assistance.

Responding to the Chinese victims' request, Aisawa said he will immediately look into what can be done.

"We lodged a request concerning five wishes of the victims and also asked that a forum be set up to handle the requests and discuss specific ways to resolve them," Su Xiangxiang, one of the lawyers for the victims, told Xinhua after meeting Aisawa.

The wishes include an apology from the Japanese government, continuous medical care, livelihood support especially for children's education and future employment, and efforts to prevent a similar incident from happening again, Su said.

Aisawa told reporters after meeting the victims, "The governments of Japan and China have come to a conclusion in this matter, but it's natural for them to have worries and anxieties, particularly about the children's future."

"We must listen to what they have to say and think about what we can or cannot do, and what's the most constructive and appropriate way to deal with the situation within the whole picture, including a project involving surveying where and how much of the weapons remain buried and disposing of them," he added.

In the written demand addressed to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the victims of the Qiqihar gas leak in August 2003, which killed one person and injured 43 others, and their supporters are calling for continuous compensation from Japan for medical treatment for aftereffects such as decline in vision, lung functions and the immune system.

The Chinese victims, along with their lawyers, arrived in Tokyo for a 11-day tour to carry out a series of negotiations with the Japanese government for proper treatment on the issue.

After rounds of negotiations between Chinese and Japanese governments, Japan side agreed to pay for 300 million yen (about 2. 68 million US dollars) to deal with the abandoned chemical weapons issue.

Source: Xinhua