Japan to build weapons disposal plants

In what is believed to be the largest overseas project ever by its government, Japan will spend more than US$1.9bn to build a chemical weapons disposal center in the Haerbaling district of Jilin province to process Japanese chemical weapons left there after World War II, where most of the remaining weapons are believed to have been buried, AFP reported. Japan and China will sign a special pact this year on the project, which is expected to allow foreign companies not eligible to participate in large-scale projects under Chinese law to work on the disposal as long as they receive approval from Japan. Under the UN Chemical Weapons Convention, Japan has until 2007 to destroy all chemical weapons left in China.