Japanese Firm to Pay $4.5m for WWII Forced Labor
November 30, 2000 - 0:0
TOKYO -- Japan's biggest construction firm agreed on Wednesday to set up a $4.5 million fund for Chinese who were forced to work for it in World War II.
Kajima Corp said, however, that the 500 million yen fund, agreed in an out-of court settlement, was not intended as compensation.
The forced labor was at a mine in the town of Odate, northern Japan, where harsh working conditions led to a riot in June 1945, called the "Hanaoka incident", in which five people were killed.
The fund is nearly 10 times the 60 million yen the surviving Chinese workers and their families had sought.
Takashi Niimi, a Japanese lawyer representing the workers, said Kajima had apologized for the forced labor. "It was a great achievement," Niimi told a news conference. "We hope this agreement will bring progress in Japanese-Chinese relations." Kajima said in a statement: "As it was wartime, the conditions they were in were extremely harsh, and though we gave our greatest consideration, unfortunately many died from illnesses and we are deeply grieved by this." Japanese companies have typically taken the position that they were not legally liable for the sufferings of forced laborers during wartime and say that such issues have been settled bilaterally between governments.
Most of the Kajima fund, to be set up in Beijing, will be used for cultural exchange programs, though some will go to the victims and their families, Niimi said.
Of some 1,000 Chinese brought to work at the site in 1944, 418 had died by the end of 1945.
"I am very grateful for the good result we were able to get," said Kazue Nakazawa, the widow of one of the workers, Lee Kejin, who died just weeks ago.
Thousands of Korean and Chinese laborers were brought to Japan before and during the war as forced laborers to work in factories and mines for little or no pay as Japan tried to keep its war machine going.
In recent years, a rising number of lawsuits have been brought against the government and individual companies by wartime laborers and prisoners, but with little success.
(Reuter)
Kajima Corp said, however, that the 500 million yen fund, agreed in an out-of court settlement, was not intended as compensation.
The forced labor was at a mine in the town of Odate, northern Japan, where harsh working conditions led to a riot in June 1945, called the "Hanaoka incident", in which five people were killed.
The fund is nearly 10 times the 60 million yen the surviving Chinese workers and their families had sought.
Takashi Niimi, a Japanese lawyer representing the workers, said Kajima had apologized for the forced labor. "It was a great achievement," Niimi told a news conference. "We hope this agreement will bring progress in Japanese-Chinese relations." Kajima said in a statement: "As it was wartime, the conditions they were in were extremely harsh, and though we gave our greatest consideration, unfortunately many died from illnesses and we are deeply grieved by this." Japanese companies have typically taken the position that they were not legally liable for the sufferings of forced laborers during wartime and say that such issues have been settled bilaterally between governments.
Most of the Kajima fund, to be set up in Beijing, will be used for cultural exchange programs, though some will go to the victims and their families, Niimi said.
Of some 1,000 Chinese brought to work at the site in 1944, 418 had died by the end of 1945.
"I am very grateful for the good result we were able to get," said Kazue Nakazawa, the widow of one of the workers, Lee Kejin, who died just weeks ago.
Thousands of Korean and Chinese laborers were brought to Japan before and during the war as forced laborers to work in factories and mines for little or no pay as Japan tried to keep its war machine going.
In recent years, a rising number of lawsuits have been brought against the government and individual companies by wartime laborers and prisoners, but with little success.
(Reuter)