The poisonings began to come to light a week ago. Since then, the Japanese government has acknowledged that the mustard gas was left behind by Japanese troops after World War II. But it has not given any word on compensation. Some of the victims' families are now thinking of litigation.

"What I want now is treatment for my son. If he doesn't recover or we can't get any compensation, we'll think about suing the Japanese government," said Victim's family member.

Su Xiangxiang and Luo Lijuan are the first lawyers to offer legal representation to the victims and the local government. They are members of a Sino-Japanese lawyers group that came together a decade ago to defend victims of biochemical weapons abandoned by Japanese troops in China.

The Qiqihar incident is one of the worst on record. To date, 37 people have been hospitalized after exposure to the chemicals. And two are in critical condition.

"Our job is to sort through the evidence to prepare for possible litigation. This case has aroused a lot of interest around the world, including in Japan. As lawyers, we are obliged to find out what really happens here and defend the rights of victims," said Luo Lijuan.

This is not the first such case for the two lawyers. Su Xiangxiang has spent the last eight years championing the rights of victims in similar incidents. But the outcome has not been encouraging.

Chemical weapons left by the Japanese have been accused of poisoning more than 2000 people in China. In the past decade, 7 lawsuits have been filed against the Japanese government. But, to date, not a single cent has been paid to victims in compensation. The latest case ended in May. The Japanese acknowledge the facts put forward by the Chinese plaintiffs. But they dismissed the victims' demand for compensation.

"Why do we plan to litigate, even when we know we might lose? It's because we have two battle fronts in Japan. One is in the courtroom. There we can force the Japanese government to face the crimes of the past. The second is through civil organizations in Japan. This way, the Japanese public learns more about what really happened. Ultimately, we hope to see a political solution to the problem. Litigation is one way of serving that end," said Su Xiangxiang.

The two Chinese lawyers will be joined later in the week by their Japanese colleagues. They believe their work can make a difference.

"Luo Lijuan's mission is the latest in his eight year campaign to win compensation for victims. He knows this won't be an easy case. But he won't give up. He and his colleague believe their work will be rewarded when legislation is introduced in Japan addressing the problem.

(CCTV.com August 14, 2003)