Two boys in Dunhua City, northeast China's Jilin Province, will get comprehensive medical tests for their injuries from a chemical weapon abandoned by the Japanese troops after the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

According to China Daily, a team of Chinese and Japanese legal experts, left Dunhua city on Thursday after a two-day investigation into the incident.

They launched the probe after Liu Hao and Zhou Tong discovered a 50-centimetre-long barrel containing chemicals when they were playing close to their Lianhuapao Village.

The lawyers said the boys had since suffered weakened immune systems.

The boys opened the rusted weapon in July last year out of curiosity and a toxic liquid flowed out, splashing their bodies and causing severe blistering on their hands and legs.

The team of lawyers, who visited the site where the weapon was found, decided that authoritative Chinese medical experts will be invited to determine the injuries of nine-year-old Liu and Zhou, 13, next May.

The medical certification would form important evidence to be put forward to the Japanese Government for any compensation claims.

Experts said that mustard gas, which the weapon was believed to contain, has a very long incubation period. Since there is no effective medical treatment for it, people who are poisoned often have to suffer throughout their lifetime.

"Although the two boys have no apparent difference from other students during their daily life, their immunity has been seriously affected. They catch colds much more easily than others. Moreover, they often had symptoms similar to carsickness after they recovered from the injury," Su said.

"We want the Japanese Government to compensate for the pains that my child is suffering. All the family members are worried about his health," one of the boys' father said.

Minami Noria, a lawyer from Japan, said, "The Japanese Government should have a clear attitude on the issue, since there is no doubt about the fact that the two boys have been injured by Japanese chemical weapons. The question of providing medical care for the boys should be solved by the Japanese Government."

(China Daily December 16, 2005)