Court orders mining company to compensate Chinese for forced labor in WWII

In a suit brought by Chinese who were taken to Japan for forced labor during World War II, a local court ruled that the state and Mitsui Mining Co. were responsible and ordered the mining company to pay compensation.

On April 26, the Fukuoka District Court ordered Mitsui Mining Co. to pay 165 million yen (1.27 million dollars) in damages to 15 Chinese plaintiffs against their claim for damages totaling 345 million yen (2.65 million dollars).

The ruling, after over half a century since the end of the war, judged that the state and the corporation "collaborated in planning and implementing the forced labor action."

This is epochal in that the judgment for the first time recognized state responsibility for carrying out the mobilization of Chinese into slave labor, said lawyers of the plaintiffs in their statement. This is also the first to acknowledge corporate responsibility for this problem.

During the War, Japan's Imperialist government captured as many as 40,000 Chinese in Northern China and sent them to 135 mines, docks, and other corporate facilities in Japan. Given little foods under hard labor conditions with no pay, about 7,000 died before those remaining were sent back to China.

Similar law suits are pending in six district courts and one high court.

In the statement, the lawyers demanded that the state sincerely accept the ruling and take steps so that corporate compensation will be made without delay. (end)