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The ninth year of the Heisei era (1998),
(Ne) No. 5746
A lawsuit for the demand of reparation for
injury
The appellants (plaintiffs): Geng Zhun and
10 others
The defendant: Kajima Corporation
The Provisions of the Settlement
The Section 1. The both parties concerned
reconfirm the joint statement issued on July 5, 1990. However, the defendant
insisted that the joint statement does not
acknowledge the legal responsibility of the
defendant and the appellants took note this
claim.
The Section 2. In order to settle the problem
described in Section 2 of the aforementioned
joint statement, and to commemorate those
who underwent ordeals at the work site of
the Hanaoka branch office (We call them "the
victims" from now on.), the defendant
will entrust a 500 million yen fund to the
Chinese Red Cross (From now on, we call it
"the interested party.").
The interested party will receive and manage
this fund, and the appellants will accept
this entrustment.
The Section 3. The defendant will deposit
the total amount for the trust fund concerning
this case to the bank account that will be
designated by the attorney for the interested
party, Takashi Niimi, by December 11th, 2000.
The Section 4. The interested party (From
now on, we will call it "the entrusted
party" in this document.) will manage
this fund entitled as the "Hanaoka Peace
and Goodwill Foundation," and use it
in the following ways.
1. The entrusted party will establish the
managing committee for the Hanaoka Peace
and Goodwill Foundation (From now on, we
call it as "the managing committee.")
for the purpose of the proper management
and use of this fund.
2. The managing committee will consist no
more than nine members. The committee chair
who will be appointed from the members by
a selection by these members themselves will
represent the committee. However, the defendant
may appoint one of the members if so desires.
The members will establish the details of
the organization of the managing committee
and the clerical procedures for the operation
of the trust fund.
3. In the spirit of promoting friendship
between China and Japan, the fund will be
used for providing memorial services for
the victims, the self-help efforts and care
of the victims and their families, and education
of their children.
4. As the beneficiary of the trust fund,
the victims and their families will receive
payment, amount of which will be determined
by the managing committee.
5. When it makes the aforementioned payment
to the victims and their families, the entrusted
party will describe the fact that the fund
was provided by the defendant as well as
the provisions of this settlement. In addition,
the entrusted party should obtain from the
recipient of the payment two copies of a
written document that demonstrates that s/he
approves this settlement (with a signature
or a seal bearing her/his name), and provide
one of the copies to the defendant.
6. The managing committee will determine
the range of the family members who will
receive the payment by reviewing the situation
of each family.
7. The managing committee will make the utmost
efforts for investigating the victims and
their families by procuring other agencies
and organizations that have understood the
provisions of this settlement.
8. The trust will be dissolved after having
achieved its purposes by the decision of
the managing committee. The committee will
determine how to use the remaining fund.
Section 5. This settlement aims at resolving
all the issues concerning the Hanaoka Incident,
and comprises the acknowledgment on the part
of the victims, including the appellants,
that all the issues have been resolved, and
that they will relinquish the right to claim
any other reparations in Japan and any other
countries and regions outside it.
In the case in which others than the appellants
requested reparations to the defendant, regardless
of whether they were the ones who provided
the document as specified in Article 5 of
Section 4 or not, the interested party and
the appellants must resolve this problem
and prevent the defendant from bearing a
burden.
Section 6. Through a mutual acknowledgment,
it has been confirmed that there is no other
legal claim or liability between the appellants
and the interested party, and the defendant.
Section 7. The appellants and the defendant
will pay legal and settlement fees on their
own both for the first and second trials.
Section 8. The official document of this
settlement is written in Japanese.
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Joint Statement
The Chinese survivors and the bereaved families
who underwent ordeals at Hanaoka Mine Branch
of Kajima-gumi Corp. 1944-1945 have come
to Japan to visit Kajima Construction Corp.
this time and we discussed to agree as follows,
so we announce hereby;
1. Kajima Construction Corp. admit the historical
fact that the Chinese underwent ordeals at
the work site of Hanaoka Mine Branch caused
by the compulsory transfer and the forced
labor grounded on the decision by the Cabinet
Meeting of the Japanese government (1942),
recognize the responsibility of the company
for it, and express the deepest apology to
the concerned Chinese survivors and the bereaved
families.
2. The Chinese survivors and the bereaved
families have sent an open letter dated Dec.22nd
last year to Kajima Construction Corp.based
on the above-mentioned fact. Kajima Construction
Corp. admit that this issue should be solved
by the negotiation between the two parties.
3. The two parties will continue the negotiation
with the survivors bereaved families including
their deputies to solve the issue as soon
as possible based on the above-mentioned
and the spirit saying "Preparing for
the future by not forgetting the past”(the
late premier Zhou Enlai ).
July 5th 1990 In Tokyo
Geng Zhung
On behalf of the Chinese survivors and the
bereaved families of Hanaoka Incident
Atty.Niimi Takashi
Atty.Uchida Masatoshi
Tanaka Hiroshi
Utsumi Aiko
Lin Bo Yao
As deputies for the Chinese survivors and
the bereaved families of Hanaoka Incident
Mitsuharu Murakami
Representative director & Vice-President
of Kajima Construction Corp.
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Statement by Niimi Takashi, Attorney for
Plaintiffs
On the occasion of reaching the settlement
Tokyo, Japan, November 29, 2000
1. On the occasion of reaching today's settlement,
I, as the attorney for eleven appellants
(plaintiffs) and also for the Chinese Red
Cross, would like to make the following statement.
Today's settlement, which was awaited by
many people in Japan and abroad, is literally
a landmark settlement with a historical significance.
It has been more than a year since the Tokyo
High Court Civil Division 17, in their capacity
as a mediator, issued a recommendation for
a settlement on September 10, 1999. It is
most unfortunate that three of the plaintiffs,
Mr. Meng Han Wu and Mr. Wang Ming who passed
away during the settlement talks and Mr.
Li Ke Jin who passed away during the trail
at the Tokyo District Court, did not live
to see today's settlement. During the yearlong
talks for a settlement we went through "labor
to produce something new," a process
that must be experienced by those who tried
to break new ground.
Today's settlement signifies that we must
resolve issues resulting from the Sino-Japanese
War and that we can do so from the point
of view of goodwill between Japan and China.
As the Court stated so eloquently, I firmly
believe that today's settlement represents
a shining example of a bridge that would
further promote goodwill between Japan and
China in the coming century.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude
for those people in Japan and abroad who
supported our case.
I would like to express my admiration for
the board members of Kajima Corporation who
recognized the significance of this settlement
and decided to resolve the 50-year-old problem
once and for all.
My heartfelt appliciation also goes to the
three-judge panel of the Tokyo High Court
Civil Division 17 led by Chief Judge Niimura
for their recognition of the historical importance
of resolving the Hanaoka incident and their
firm belief and determination with which
they guided patiently all the parties involved
in this extremely difficult settlement talk.
I would like to express my deepest respect
for them for fulfilling their duty by clearly
demonstrating that the Japanese judicial
branch has a sound historical understanding
and willingness to rule based on such
understanding.
2. Please refer to the chronological table of the Hanaoka Incident for events leading up to today's settlement.
3. On provisions of the settlement
Section 1. The joint statement issued on
July 5, 1990 ushered in a new era of the
movement seeking postwar compensations, and
sent a powerful impact into various parts
of the society. This statement was made following
the open letter of demand submitted on December
22, 1989 by the survivors, including Mr.
Geng Zhun, and was based on the noble philosophy
taught by the late premier Zhou Enlai -"Preparing
for the future by not forgetting the past."
As for the proviso that touches on the legal
responsibility, it does not represent an
acknowledgment by the plaintiffs that Kajima
bears no legal responsibility, but was written
after they refused to make such an acknowledgment
sought by Kajima.
Never in the history of postwar compensation
settlement in Japan has there been a single
case where any sort of responsibility, not
to mention legal responsibility, was addressed.
In the case of German forced labor foundation,
acknowledging the absence of legal responsibility
was also the prerequisite for the settlement.
Against this background, this proviso, together
with the joint statement that reaffirmed
the settlement though a lawsuit, is of great
significance.
Section 2. The most significant characteristic
of the settlement has to do its scope where
a settlement is sought not only for the eleven
plaintiffs but also for all the victims.
Joining in this legal scheme as the representative
and the recipient of the trust fund is the
Chinese Red Cross that has long been involved
in the issue of Chinese forced labor and
has an outstanding record in the field of
international human rights.
As the memorandum issued by the Courts states,
the amount to be placed into the trust fund
was suggested by the Court after it conducted
a comprehensive review including examination
of similar cases abroad. It is my understanding
that the court's decision has taken into
consideration the uncertainty as to the practicality
of investigating each of 986 victims after
fifty-five years.
It is true that there was strong reluctance
on the part of the plaintiffs to accept the
amount of the fund, but understanding the
Court's firm belief and determination and
appreciating the historical significance
of the settlement, they agreed. (Incidentally,
the total amount sought by the eleven plaintiffs
in this case was $545,000 excluding the attorney's
fee.)
Section 4. The fund will be called as "Hanaoka
Peace and Goodwill Foundation" and will
be managed by a committee. The committee
will consist of no more than nine members
who will be selected by the appellants (plaintiffs).
Kajima Corporation retains the right to send
one member to the committee if it so desires.
A process of selecting committee members
will begin immediately following today's
announcement. Each victim will receive payment,
amount of which will be determined by the
committee. A portion of the fund will also
be used for projects planned by the Foundation.
Section 5. Guaranteeing comprehensiveness
of the settlement
Although Kajima Corporation had expressed
in the joint statement issued on July 5,
1990 their candid acknowledgment of historical
facts and deep remorse for them, they repeatedly
made certain arguments (not necessarily legal
arguments) during the trial that were inconsistent
with the spirit of the joint statement. I
must say that the Chinese victims were very
disturbed by it and as a result their trust
in Kajima was severely damaged.
There is no doubt that it requires a great
deal of courage to transform a long time
hostile relation into a friendly one. It
is my sincere desire that Kajima Corporation,
starting with today's settlement, will face
up to the historical truth and walk honorably
the highroad of advancing goodwill between
Japan and China.
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Brief History of Hanaoka/Kajima and the Chinese
victims
1942
Cabinet meeting authorized the conscription
of Chinese workers to Japan
1944-1945
986 Chinese people were forcibly taken to
Hanaoka labor camp in Odate, operated by
Kajima-gumi, the predecessor of today's Kajima
Corp., a major construction company in Japan
1945 June 30th
Uprising known as the Hanaoka Incident, a
riot against cruel working conditions and
inhuman treatments. Five Japanese mining
supervisors were killed.
1945 15th August Japan lost the war
1945 11th September
Akita district court found the Chinese riot
leaders, Mr.Geng Zhun and others of guilty
1945 October
American military found the dormitory called
“Chyuzan-ryo”, a kind of concentration
camp, where Chinese forced laborers lived.
Beginning of investigation of Hanaoka Incident
as war crime (Of the 986 Chinese workers
taken to the mines between August and June
1945, 418 are said to have died there by
December 1945, including those killed after
the riot)
1948 1st March
At the War Crime Tribunal of American 8th
military, Masatoshi Kono and others, who
were responsible for the Kajima-gumi work
site, were convicted (three company staff
supervised the workers were sentenced to
death by hanging, one was sentenced to imprisonment
for life, two policemen were sentenced to
20 years' imprisonment)
1949 October
Founding of the Peoples’ Republic of China.
Kajima constructed a memorial tower for the
victims in the precincts of a Buddhist temple,
Shinshoji in Hanaoka.
1953-1964
Bone of Chinese victims sent to China (Contact
point on Chinese side was Chinese Red Cross)
1972 September
China-Japanese Joint Communique
1978 August
China-Japanese Peace & Friendship Treaty
1989 22nd December
Mr.Geng Zhun and others, survivors of the
Hanaoka Incident, in an open letter made
a three point demand: a public apology, compensations
from Kajima Corp., establishing their memorial
museum for education.
1990 5th July
"Joint statement" by Chinese survivors
and Kajima Corp.
1995 March
Chinese survivors announced the cessation
of negotiations with Kajima Corp.
1995 28th June
A total of 11 Chinese survivors and the next
of kin of those who died, led by 81 year-old
Geng Zhun, filed a suit with the Tokyo District
courts asking for a total of 60.5 million
in compensation (first lawsuit by Chinese
survivors)
1997 10th December
Tokyo District Court rejected the claim without
hearing any testimony from survivors, saying
forced labor in Japan ended in 1948 and the
statute of limitations on the case had to
be appllied.
1997 12th December
Plaintiffs appealed against the judgment
made by the division of Tokyo District Court
to Tokyo High Court. ( The case was assigned
to the 17th civil affairs division of Tokyo
High Court.)
1998 15th July
First review on the appeal in the Tokyo High
Court (since then oral proceedings have been
held 6 times)
1999 10th September
Judge Masato Niimura in the Tokyo High Court
recommended that that a settlement be pursued
on the court’s official capacity
1999 16th December
Chinese Red Cross officially announced that
they would join the process of settlement
as an interested party
2000 21st April
Tokyo High Court gave a recommended compromise
plan to representatives of all parties.
2000 31st May
Chinese Red Cross replied to the High Court
that they had no objection to the plan of
the Tokyo High Court
2000 10th November
The final High Court-mediated plan was given
to representatives of all parties.
2000 21st November
All parties confirmed the terms of the settlement
in the official plan
2000 29th November
Kajima and Chinese group, representing survivors
and relatives of the deceased, finally made
the settlement at the Tokyo High Court
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