Japan must not turn a blind eye to China's suppression of ethnic minorities and should take the on responsibility of assisting them, the president of the World Uighur Congress said Wednesday.

Rebiya Kadeer, 62, who heads the Uighur rights movement, called on Japan to dispatch an investigative unit to look into the July 5 riot in Urumqi that left nearly 200 dead and 1,800 wounded.

"China has only put forward numbers that work in favor of their government," the activist said at a news conference in Tokyo, saying at least 10,000 Uighurs have disappeared since the clash.