Japanese govt should compensate forced Chinese laborers: experts

The Japanese government's stance on historical issues caused the "disappointing verdict" on the suit of a late forced Chinese laborer, and the Japanese government should give a "just" answer to the people of the nations it victimized, some Chinese experts said on June 24.

The Tokyo High Court Thursday denied giving compensation of 20 million Japanese yen (approximately 183,000 US dollars) to the family of Liu Lianren, a late forced laborer from China who escaped from a worksite toward the end of World War II and hid in mountains for about 13 years unaware the war had ended.

The high court overturned a 2001 first-instance verdict of the Tokyo District Court that signaled for the first time the Japanese government should compensate a foreign national forcibly brought to Japan for labor during the war.

According to the 2001 ruling, Liu was forcibly brought to Japan in September 1944 from his home in east China's Shandong Province with some 800 other Chinese. He was forced to work at a mine in the town of Numata in northwestern Hokkaido, from where he ran away with four other forced Chinese laborers in April 1945. He continued to hide in the mountains, fearing the Japanese, until being found in February 1958.

"The high court's verdict is disappointing," said Liu Jiangyong, a professor of international relations with the prestigious Qinghua University. He said Liu Lianren's efforts on seeking compensation has lasted for many years. Although he passed away in 2000, the legal process he initiated has not ended.

Tens of thousands of Chinese laborers were forcibly taken to Japan during World War II and made to do heavy labor.

"It is inhuman and defiant of human rights," Liu Jiangyong said. He argues that the Japanese government should shoulder responsibility for the suffering they inflicted to the Chinese laborers.

Jin Canrong, an expert on international relations at People's University, holds that the fundamental reason leading to the ruling is Japanese mainstream society's incorrect attitude towards its history.

"(Japanese society) mentally cannot accept the consequences of World War II, which is also the reason leading to the series of problems in Sino-Japanese ties," Jin said.

The family of Liu Lianren and its lawyers have expressed extreme disappointment with the recent high court ruling and urged the Japanese government to make to justly address the issue of forced Chinese laborers.

"We have decided to appeal to the supreme court of Japan until a just ruling is obtained," Liu Lianren's eldest son Liu Huanxin said.

On Friday, the Chinese mainstream media, such as People's Daily (Overseas Edition) and China Daily, prominently displayed yesterday's ruling.

Yao Wenli, an expert with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the ruling once again harms the feelings of all those victimized by Japan, as well as their descendants.

"The verdict should respect history and take into consideration the trauma caused by the Japanese militarists among the Asian people," Yao said.

The issue could cast a shadow over the China-Japan relationship.

"It is also detrimental to Japan's intention of creating the image that it is a big nation on the international stage," said Liu Jiangyong.

During World War II, there were altogether 50,685 forced Chinese laborers working in 135 enterprises in Japan. More than 6, 800 died there due to ruthless exploitation by the Japanese. The rest were repatriated after the war.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Thursday " It was one of serious crimes committed by the Japanese militarists to forcefully take Chinese laborers to Japan, essentially enslaving them, during World War II."

He urged the Japanese government to shoulder its due accountability, adopt a more penitent attitude toward its history, and properly handle the issue concerning a forced Chinese laborer.

Source: Xinhua