Subject: [cwj 56] Koreans granted redress for wartime forced labor
From: Corporate Watch in Japanese <cwj@corpwatch.org>
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 17:50:40 -0700
Seq: 56
For more information on Forced labor and Japanese corporation, visit http://www.corpwatch.org/japan/domestic/#corphr Koreans granted redress for wartime forced labor July 12, 2000 A Japanese machine-toolmaker has reached a settlement with three South Koreans who served as forced laborers during World War II based on recommendations handed down by the Supreme Court, company sources said Tuesday. Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp., based in Toyama on the Sea of Japan coast, reached a compromise Tuesday with the three plaintiffs at the top court in Tokyo to settle a lawsuit filed by the South Koreans in September 1992, the sources said. The plaintiffs are two women -- Lee Jong Suk, 68, and Choi Bong Nyon, 69 -- and one man, Ko Dok Hwan, 77. It is the first time that a compromise of this kind has been made at the Supreme Court. It is the third such settlement, following a compromise between Japan Steel Corp. and former Korean workers recruited during World War II. About 60 lawsuits seeking compensation payments for forced labor during the war are being heard throughout the country. The three Koreans testified that they were forced into hard labor at the company's munitions factory in Toyama during the closing days of World War II after being recruited between 1943 and 1944 from the Korean Peninsula, then under Japanese colonial rule. Kensuke Imura, president of Nachi-Fujikoshi, said at a news conference in Toyama that the company will pay the Koreans "settlement money," but he did not specify the amount. The plaintiffs had sought a total of 20 million yen in damages, 5,200 yen in unpaid wages and a public apology. Imura also said the company still believes the Koreans' claims that they were not paid for their years of labor is untrue. "Our position -- that there is no such fact their wages were not paid -- hasn't changed," he said. "However, we have decided (to pay them) so we can get past this unhappy event of the 20th century and can positively enter a new era." Asked whether the company plans to offer the plaintiffs an apology, Imura said, "There will be no apology. We never forced them to come to Japan." He also said, "It is wrong to apply modern sensibilities when discussing wartime events." The plaintiffs said that during the war they were told they would be able to earn decent wages at the company and also attend school, but the company never allowed them to study and sent them home without pay shortly before Japan surrendered in August 1945. In December 1998, the Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch upheld a lower court rejection of a demand by the Koreans that Nachi-Fujikoshi pay them for damages and unpaid wages. The high court dismissed the plaintiffs' appeal, upholding the Toyama District Court's ruling in July 1996 that turned down their demand by citing the statute of limitations. Nachi-Fujikoshi, established in 1928, is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. According to the company, it had approximately 1,500 Korean workers, mostly girls and women, immediately before the end of the war. The Japan Times: July 12, 2000 (C) All rights reserved FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Corporate Watch in Japanese is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability, human rights, economic democracy and social justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. ------------------------------------- Corporate Watch in Japanese Transnational Resource and Action Center (TRAC) P.O. Box 29344 San Francisco, CA 94129 USA Tel: 1-415-561-6472 Fax: 1-415-561-6493 Email: cwj@corpwatch.org URL: http://www.corpwatch-jp.org ------------------------------------- ______________________ The Corporate Watch in Japanese http://www.corpwatch.org/japan (CWJ) mailing list is a moderated email list in English designed to connect activists campaigning against Japanese corporations and investments around the world. * To unsubscribe from the CWJ mailing list, send an email to majordomo@jca.apc.org with text "unsubscribe cwj". To subscribe to the CWJ mailing list, send a message to majordomo@jca.apc.org with the text "subscribe cwj" * The CWJ mailing list is NOT intended for wide distribution. If you would like to post messages from this list somewhere else, we ask that you first contact us at cwj@corpwatch.org ______________________