Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials will apologise and pay compensation to Chinese victims of forced labour during the second world war, Japanese media reported on Friday, days after the firm made a landmark apology to US prisoners of war.
More than 3,700 Chinese who were forced into hard labour in the company’s wartime mines will be eligible for compensation of 100,000 yuan (£10,400), Kyodo News and Jiji news agencies said, citing sources close to the matter.
Mitsubishi Materials, a sprawling conglomerate which makes everything from cement to electronics, will express “deep remorse” and “sincere apologies” to the victims and build a 100m yen (£52,000) monument honouring them, Kyodo reported.
The Japanese firm apologised on Sunday to US prisoners of war used as forced labour during the second world war. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the conflict.
The two countries estimate about 39,000 Chinese nationals were forcibly brought to Japan during the second world war at Tokyo’s behest to work in coalmines and construction sites, where harsh conditions killed almost 7,000.
Of the 3,765 Chinese labourers used by Mitsubishi Materials’ wartime predecessor Mitsubishi Mining Co, several hundred died at the time, and only 1,500 survivors or their relatives have been found, Kyodo said.
Since the 1990s, Chinese survivors have filed a series of lawsuits against the Japanese government and corporations seeking damages for wartime wrongs.
However, Japan’s supreme court in 2007 ruled against granting wartime compensation to individuals, saying their rights to claims were relinquished after a 1972 Sino-Japanese declaration that normalised ties between the two countries.
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion