Contact /Last modified: 08/23/01
1.
The Philippines -- Atrocities and the Military Comfort Women
As the Philippines became the battleground for a direct clash of Japanese
and US forces, the devastation of local people was immeasurable. Especially,
the soil was soaked with the blood shed by countless non-combatants --
women, children and the elderly.
Declaring war on British and Americans on December 8, 1941, the Japanese
military made formidable advances. It conquered Manila, the capital of
the Philippines, on January 2, 1942, and held the city for over three years
until the landing of US forces in the Lingayen Gulf on January 9, 1945.
During the occupation, Japanese soldiers terrified local populations with
countless acts of brutality, and as the war situation turned against Japan,
the massacre of local villagers was done as a counter-measure against espionage
and anti-Japanese guerrilla activity. Symbolic were the Infanta Case and
the Bamintahan Massacre, which were infamous examples of atrocities committed
by the Japanese Navy.
Sergio Galucia, who attended the 1991 International Forum on War Reparations
for the Asia-Pacific Region, is one of the few survivors of the Bamintahan
Massacre. He was stabbed with a bayonet five times, with two stabs piercing
his lungs. Due to the wounds, he was unable to work properly even long
after the war. After enduring all these mental, physical and economic pains,
he visited Japan to negotiate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only
to receive a cold refusal. He took off his shirt and showed his five scars
from the wounds. "Your Prime Minister Kaifu has made apologies,"
said the man, "why don"t you follow suit?" The official
responded, "I am just a section chief, and not in a position to answer."
He was denied compensation with the explanation that the case had been
settled through an agreement of postwar settlement with the government
of the Philippines.
Filipino Military Comfort Women
The ianfu (military comfort women) system, developed in relation to the
Shanghai Incident in 1932, had three purposes:
1. To prevent cases of rape by Japanese soldiers as a part of an effort
to maintain public safety in the occupied areas (initially China).
2. To prevent the spread of venereal diseases among Japanese soldiers as
was done during the dispatch of troops to Siberia in 1918-22.
3. To avoid espionage by preventing any contact between soldiers and local
women, which could lead to the leaking of military information.
To achieve these goals, the Japanese military systematically mobilized
local young women in colonized Korea. Although Japanese women were also
involved from the beginning, they tended to be older, were likely to have
venereal disease, and seldom agreed to go to dangerous areas. Therefore,
Korean women became ideal targets as they were, based on racist practices,
put under the thumb of the military and could be taken to any dangerous
area, including the front lines. Also, without any previous sexual experience,
they were free of venereal diseases and they posed no risk for espionage
as they did not understand Japanese language or the local languages. Thus,
they became a common source of ianfu.
However, the above did not apply to the situation in the Philippines. Japan
occupied those islands only temporarily after fierce battles against the
US that began December 8, 1942. Its rule over the islands was never stable,
with constant threats from activities of the US forces and local guerrillas.
For this reason, the Japanese military could not send Korean ianfu to the
Philippines on any massive scale.
The Japanese military was, despite its propaganda of "the Great East-Asian
Co-prosperity Sphere," essentially an aggressor, and operated on the
principle of local procurement as soldiers were poorly equipped except
for weapons. The military procured the necessary food, housing and other
materials with its currency (gunpyo) and violent plunder reigned. Accordingly,
military personnel fulfilled their sexual needs by raping local Filipino
women and then interning them. In this way, many Filipino ianfu were procured.
In essence, if Korean ianfu were an "appropriate" target of the
military's ianfu scheme, Filipino ianfu were "inappropriate"
in that they were essentially the victims of sexual enslavement of local
women by the conqueror. The Filipino ianfu, in this sense, embodies the
Japanese military's abuse and enslavement of local women in occupied areas
and their existence demonstrates the extent of such practices throughout
China and Southeast Asia.
Further, behind the issue of Filipino ianfu, lies the question of a more
general oppression inflicted by the Japanese military upon localities in
occupied areas, including massacres, forced relocation and labor, and the
deprivation of property of local residents.
With this background, 18 former Filipina ianfu filed suit in Tokyo District
Court, on the grounds of violation of the international law of human rights
--especially the Hague Treaty-- on April 2, 1993 (Chief attorney, Takagi
Kenichi). The following October, the group of plaintiffs was joined by
another 28 Filipina, and the group made known to Japanese society the various
forms of damage they suffered.
2. Malaysia-- Romusha
in the Burma-Siam Railroad
The outbreak of the Second World War forcibly pulled hitherto neutral Thailand
into the war. Immediately after the outbreak, on December 21, 1941, Japan
forced the government led by Phibun Songgram to sign the Treaty of Japan-Thai
Alliance, which allowed free passage of the Japanese military through Thai
territories. Soon, Japanese conquered Burma in order to cut the Chiang's
Supply Route (the international supply route for KMT government via Burma)
and launched the Imphal Operation. To secure supply routes for their operations,
the Japanese military started construction of the Burma-Siam railroad and
military highways.
The Burma-Siam Railroad was designed to connect Nong Brahdok, Thailand
and Thanbyuzayast, Burma (currently Myanmar), stretching 415 kilometers
over the bordering mountains. As is widely known from the postwar film
"The Bridge on the River Kwoi" and its soundtrack " River
Kwoi March," construction involved tremendous hardships that included
cutting through virgin jungles and shearing through cliffs along the Khwae
Noi River. Moreover, the task was carried out using a massive number of
laborers who were equipped only with shovels and picks, and necessary materials
were obtained through extreme "local procurement" as evidenced
in the planning document, which stated, "Construction material shortfalls
should be supplemented mainly through the squeezing of surplus resources
from the occupied southern areas to keep additional supplies from Japan
to a minimum." Due to requirements of the Imphal Operation, the construction
period was strictly limited. It was completed in utmost haste, taking only
16 months from July 1942 to October 1943.
Following instructions that "the workforce should be obtained from
local laborers and POWs," 55,000 Allied POWs and over 100,000 "romusha
"(a Japanese word adopted by Thais meaning unskilled laborer) from
Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia were mobilized.
The ultimate burden of the reckless construction plans all rested with
the workers, and they were forced to do hard labor shifts of over twelve
hours both day and night. Those who contracted malaria or some infectious
disease were simply abandoned and left without any food or medicine.
Such extraordinarily hard labor demands and a poor working environment
resulted in as many deaths as the number of crossties used (one every meter
was supposed to have been used) and so the project became known as the
"Railway of Death."
Later, these "deaths numbering as many as the crosssties" became
one of major themes in the accusations of POW abuse in postwar war criminal
courts, and many of those soldiers overseeing the Fifth and Ninth Railroad
Regiments --which had constructed the Burma-Siam Railroad-- were sentenced
as Class-B and -C war criminals. Especially critical is the fact that these
war criminals included many Korean guards who directly supervised POWs
under the command of Japanese soldiers (see Part II, Chapter Four).
Presently, the National Rail and Tourist Bureau of Thailand is commercializing
the Burma-Siam Railroad as a tourist attraction and the site is frequented
by Japanese adventure seekers, while the story of those Asian romusha who
were used as disposable tools has been forgotten throughout the entire
period of postwar history.
Soong Yit-Koi (born in 1918), the representative for a group of former
relocated laborers for the Burma-Siam Railroad, recalled his experiences
when he lived in Seremban in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, as follows:
"On August 4, 1942, I went out for a walk to a nearby park around
eight o'clock in the morning. On my way to the park, I was stopped by a
Japanese soldier and offered a job as a gunpu (military laborer). The man,
however, would not explain what exactly I was supposed to do, only emphasizing
that I could have much better conditions as a gunpu than in my previous
jobs. As I had no viable job prospects at that time, I decided to take
the offer. Because I was told that I could return soon after working one
to three months --four months at maximum-- I was convinced that working
for the Japanese military as a gunpu should be better than my previous
jobs. So I rushed back home to quickly tidy up my belonging and showed
up at the Seremban Central Station to join the other people gathered there.
We left at 5:00 in the evening and were taken to Ganja Aburo, Thailand.
There was a bridge and something like a base station of the Japanese military,
where each of us received a bamboo card with a number on it. Mine was 669.
Given the numbers continued on up to 780, I assumed our group arriving
on that day was made up of 780 people.
"We walked for three straight days. When it rained, we were put in
small tents with about 50 others and had no space to lie down to sleep.
Upon reaching the work site, we saw many British and Australians who seemed
to be POWs of the Japanese military. They were wearing only underclothes,
extremely thin and appeared to be suffering some skin diseases on their
upper bodies. Seeing them, I had the feeling that I too might become like
them.
"To talk about what kind of job I was engaged in there, I was first
assigned to construct log house-type lodgings for laborers. The two-story
log house had a corridor in the center and banks on both sides. The basement
was of the same design. As so many people were ill, those who lay in bed
on the first floor were covered in human feces which had fallen from upstairs,
where others sick were left in their own excrement. Also, skin diseases
were not uncommon and some were suffering from some very itchy infections
of their feet -- so much so that they madly and constantly scratched them
raw until finally bone could be seen. As I continued working, I began to
witness more and more people begin to die.
"We had to work hard day in, day out, regardless of the weather. After
completing the log house, we started railroad construction. However, the
work was often interrupted by UK bombers, which destroyed the bridges and
the railroad of the Japanese, and we had to work many days without stopping
to fix the damage" (testimony at the International Forum on War Reparation
in 1991).
In addition to this harsh labor, infectious diseases and malnutrition left
many of them dead. Corpses of the romshas were put into hemp sacks and
thrown into the river, or buried at the base of the railroad under construction.
Many were simply abandoned in the jungle beside the railroad.
In November 1991, the remains of about 750 bodies were found buried in
the ground at sugar cane farms in Kanchanaburi. As precise documentation
is unavailable for these victims, and as many escaped during the project,
the overall situation has yet to be clarified.
It is believed that between 250,000 and 300,000 romusha were used on both
sides of the border, but no figures have been released for victims.
Among the 780 people assembled with Soong Yit-koi, only 49 returned alive.
Assuming this rate of attrition, the total death toll during the construction
of the Burma-Siam Railroad must have been enormous.
After the war, Mr. Soong began looking for the families of these victims,
contacted 239 people, and formed an association of these victims with a
membership of 300 to push the Japanese government to pay outstanding salaries.
He wrote in April 1986 to the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia, demanding settlement
of the unpaid salaries of 288 people. The Embassy replied as follows:
"Concerning the reparation of material and human damages caused under
the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, the British government,
then-ruler of Malaya, signed the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty to make
peace with Japan. Article 14 -(b) of the Treaty states that the former
Allied countries abandoned their claims for reparation arising from activities
of the Japanese state and its people in their pursuit of the war. Thus,
Britain's claim for reparation was abandoned.
"Also, after the independence of Malaysia, the governments of Japan
and Malaysia concluded an Aid Agreement on September 21, 1967. Article
Two of the Agreement reads, "We accept that all problems arising from
the unfortunate incidents during the Second World War are resolved thoroughly
and ultimately with this agreement." Given this, therefore, we cannot
respond to your request for honoring unpaid salaries."
It was not the British government, nor could it possibly have been the
Malaysian government established after the war, that Mr. Soong and others
made their labor contracts with. They contracted with the Japanese military.
It was a private contract that Mr. Soong Yit-Koi made, and he has by no
means given any consent to the disposal of his unpaid salary. Therefore,
the case made by the Japanese government that his right to make a claim
was abandoned is indefensible.
The 1993 International Forum on War Reparations was attended by Soon Kian-Seng,
who represented the victims in Malaysia, in order to make an appeal for
the redress of damages resulting from brutal killings and forced relocation.
After his return, the membership of the group further expanded to include
about 700 people, all demanding reparation for various war-related damages
including the gunpyo, atrocities and the ianfu system.
3. Former Heiho
in Indonesia
During the Pacific War, the Japanese military created many categories of
unofficial military servicemen including gunzoku throughout the Asia-Pacific
region. In Indonesia, these men were called "heiho."
From the initial recruitment that took place in Java in April 1943 until
the defeat of Japan in 1945, over 400,000 people were believed to be recruited
as heiho. Their task was to serve Japanese soldiers, doing cooking and
other odd-jobs in the corps to which they were assigned, although some
were sent to the front lines to take part in fighting.
In 1974, a group of Japanese visited Morotai Island in the Halmahera Islands,
which had been the battleground of the largest fight in Indonesia during
the Pacific War, to collect the remains of Japanese soldiers and to build
a memorial monument in their honor. Despite the fact that about 800 Indonesian
heiho were also killed or went missing in the same battle on Morotai Island,
those Japanese collecting the remains of their dead totally ignored these
Indonesian heiho. They returned home, taking all the remains they had collected
with them, with those of the heiho just left remaining on the ground. This
behavior on the part of the Japanese pilgrims sparked outrage among Indonesians,
especially those who had served as heiho. Provoked by this incident, people
started organizing themselves to defend the rights of former heiho.
These heiho groups formed around 1980 took steps to demand compensation
at the Japanese Embassy, but they were mostly ignored. So they created
the Central Council of Former Heiho to unite themselves and formally registered
as an organization based on the Mass Organization Law with the Home Ministry
in 1985. The organization's membership numbered 15,000 former heiho and
8,500 widows of heiho as of March 1991.
These people do not live comfortably. 80% of the former heiho are living
a hand-to-mouth existence. Many of them live in rented houses and work
as drivers of cyclos (a kind of bicycle taxi) and horse-drawn wagons, and
street vendors of kerosene. 60% of them have fallen prey to usurers and
only 3% can afford university education for their children.
The Central Council of Former Heiho in Indonesia has made the following
demands to the Japanese government:
1) The issuance of formal letters of honorable discharge and a double promotion.
Although Japan unconditionally surrendered in 1945 to end the Second World
War, these former heiho never received any notice of discharge from service.
Thus their relationship with the Japanese government has not yet legally
terminated.
The Ministry of Army implemented regulations for heiho (the Heiho Regulation
Letter Number 3636) in September 1942. Based on this document, the southern
force announced detailed rules in April 1943 that formalized the recruitment
of heiho. Therefore, heiho existed in an official capacity as corps members
within the Japanese military as approved by the Emperor. However, following
the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military on August 15, 1945,
heiho were allowed to return home on August 18th, 19th , and 20th as if
they were taking a long vacation. Outside Java, heiho were imprisoned by
the Allied Forces until 1947. Those serving in Java received a small amount
of rice, clothes and a train ticket for a nearby station in order to return
home, while those not on the island received nothing. The Japanese military
ordered heiho to disperse on August 18, 1945 (Stuff Chief Oka's wire letter
No. 9 - 5) but individual heiho received no formal notices.
2) The treatment of heiho equal to Japanese soldiers, including at least
four years of unemployment allowance.
Heiho fought in the same conditions as those Japanese soldiers on the battlefield,
and did not eat when soldiers could not feed themselves. Some were bombed
and some were shot down.
Based on the 1918 Geneva Convention, former Indonesian heiho should be
compensated in the same manner as Japanese soldiers. In considering the
types of weapons, military training, rankings and salary system used, all
based on the structure of their organization and tasks required of each
unit, former heiho were clearly a part of the Japanese military and therefore
deserve to receive the same types of compensation enjoyed by former Japanese
soldiers. In fact, former Indonesian soldiers from the Dutch East Indies
have been receiving pensions and other benefits, based on the Hague Treaty
of December 1949, from either the government of Indonesia or the Dutch
depending on their nationality.
3) Repayment of savings withdrawn in advance from their salaries during
their service. Heiho were paid according to their rank but after 1942 one-third
of their salary was forcibly withdrawn in advance to be deposited into
Postal Savings, and another one-third was directly sent to their parents
back home, leaving only one-third in actual payment. Substantial testimony
suggests that their parents did not receive the salary and their postal
savings have yet to be paid out.
The Council has demanded payment of these savings. The claimed amount has
reached 70 billion yen in current value, with 25,000 people each claiming
2.7 million yen.
The Japanese government has taken the position that this problem was settled
by the Peace Treaty and Reparation Agreement between Japan and Indonesia
in 1958 and thus Japan does not have to respond the claim. However, the
peace treaty/reparation agreement makes no reference to heiho, because
the Indonesian government at that time considered the issue of heiho separate
from the issue of reparation. A reparation treaty is a matter of international
public law, while the relation between heiho and the Japanese government
is a matter of international private law.
Therefore, the interstate reparation agreement erects no obstacles for
former heiho to make a legal claim on a private level against the Japanese
government. International private law provides that, as private individuals,
these former heiho have the right to become legal subjects to demand that
the Japanese government, as a legal object, carry out its duty.
4. Palau Service
Corps
"Beautiful islands with beaches shining white against infinitely deep
and transparent blue water," and "A paradise of eternal summer
with all the charm of a marine resort." Guam, Saipan, Palau...those
southern islands are all frequented by Japanese tourists today. Honeymooners
and young working women playing in the brightest sunshine -- it is hard
to even begin to imagine the sorrow of the dark history underlying the
scenery.
Upon its entry into the First World War, Japan occupied without bloodshed
the Southern Islands ruled by Germany at that time. According the Versailles
Treaty, these island were mandated to Japan. Japan set up the Southern
Seas Agent on Koror in the Palau Islands, and branches on the six islands
of Saipan, Palau, Yap, Truk, Ponape and Jalutt in 1922.
Until Japan started the China and Pacific Wars, these southern islands
enjoyed a peaceful and calm life in "the land closest to heaven."
"I was born in a village called Arakabesan, where the Tokyu Hotel
is located today. The village was a peaceful community from as early as
I can remember up until 1934. There was a beautiful beach just in front
of my house, and rivulets running into it were filled with many fish and
shellfish. When the tides receded, the beaches became a playground for
children, who then ran about. On the small island offshore, there were
plenty of bird eggs. Along with other children from about ten houses in
the village, I spent a happy life, swimming every day, catching fish, gathering
bird eggs and shellfish to eat, and simply running around.
One day, there was a sudden loud explosion and a stone hurled through the
air, crashing through the roof and into our house. Father and Mother were
surprised and we all ran out toward where the sound had come from to find
many Japanese doing something on the offshore island. They shouted at us
to run away. Being afraid, we ran toward mountains. There we heard another
explosion. When we came back after dark, we saw other large stones had
crashed through the roof. I asked my father what these were and he answered
that these stones had been blown up by dynamite. However, in those days
I had no idea what dynamite was. Father told me to help him carry things
out as we were going to move out that night, and we escaped to our relative's
house. It was later explained that those explosions were the Japanese military
dynamiting the island to gather construction materials for their air base.
We wondered why then they did not notify us in advance. Later we found
out the Japanese military was constructing the airport in secret and did
not announce its use of explosives to avoid being detected by spies. We
really resented that" (Yano Mauel, former member of the Palau Service
Corps, attending the 1991 International Forum on Postwar Reparation).
This was the beginning of the invasion by the Japanese military. The beautiful
beaches and yam fields that used to be their play- and fishing-grounds
were claimed to construct military facilities and an airport. As the situation
of war intensified, food became scarce and rice was put under ration, and
these problems were eventually passed off to the islanders, who were despised
as third-class citizens. People of Chamorro and Kanaka were even excluded
from the food rationing system and could only afford potatoes.
They were forced to cooperate with and serve the Japanese military. Students
in public schools were mobilized for transportation and construction work
projects for the military, while young men were conscripted to be sent
out from the island. Yano Mauel, cited above, was one of them.
"At that time, the government was offering jobs in New Guinea. It
was planning to send there thirty strong and gifted young men who were
willing to work abroad for Japan and the future of Palau. I was among the
over fifty applicants and was chosen. The thirty chosen men were formed
into a regiment named the Pail Service Corps and sent to New Guinea after
one month's training. The jobs offered at that time were for carpenters,
mechanics, car drivers, clerks and general laborers. Although I was a clerk
at that time, I applied as a driver, given that I had a license. Because
one of us became sick on the day of departure, the regiment numbered 29.
One week of voyage took us from Pail to our destination --Manokuwari, Iryan
Jaya. At 5:00 the next morning, we all were awakened and led by Captain
Yasutake, running to the pier within 10 minutes. There we were put to work
unloading cargo from a military supply boat. I was perplexed, as this was
different from what we had been promised, but Captain Yasutake commanded,
'From now on you will do this work every day. We were informed that bombers
from Port Moresby are coming by at nine this morning. Thus you must hurry
to unload all cargo from the boat without stopping. After that, the cargo
must be loaded onto trucks to be driven to the warehouse in the mountains.'
While everybody was working hard unloading the cargo, an air raid alarm
sounded ten minutes before nine. Under the command of the Captain, everybody
jumped on trucks and fled into the mountains. At nine o'clock, eight B-29
Boeing bombers flew over, dropped a hell of a lot of bombs and flew away
westward. We then resumed work. At two in the afternoon, we retreated and
hid once more during another bombing raid by eight B-29 bombers, and then
we went back to work. We continued working until seven in the evening.
On that day, for the first time, I realized that we were in a very dangerous
position."
In 1943, the US forces started fighting back with full force. The Japanese
military was finally forced out of the Guadalcanal on February 1st. Thereafter,
with the US Forces taking control of the air and sea, Japan's position
became more and more inferior. On June 30th, US troops landed on Rendova
Island of the Solomon Islands, and at Nassau Bay on the north edge of New
Guinea. Taking the leapfrog strategy, they captured the South Sea Islands
one by one. A US task force attacked Palau Island on March 31, 1944, Saipan
Island on June 15th, and landed on Guam Island on July 21st.
In this situation, Yano Mauel and other members of the Palau Service Corps
were not allowed to return home even though their six-month contracts had
expired, but instead were forced to work as they had been. They were put
to dangerous work, such as having to carry bombs to the airport at Nunhol
Island and then to carry explosive compounds by truck and boat to a cave
nearby the airport that was under strict surveillance by US forces. Biak
Island was attacked by US forces on May 27th, and Nunhol Island was occupied
by a US task force. The town of Manokuwari was devastated after two days
of cannon fire from battleships, Yano Mauel and other Service Corps members
escaped into the jungles and had to live in the mountains until the end
of the war. It was not until May 29, 1946, that they returned to Palau
on a boat for repatriates.
During this period, the people of Peleliu Island of Palau also had a difficult
time as they were forced to hide deep in the mountains on the Palau mainland,
where they barely survived by sustaining themselves on nuts and grass to
the end of the war. In villages, the Japanese military evacuated islanders
from their homes, prohibiting them from collecting coconuts --their primary
source of food-- and also seized the yams they grew, leaving many children
and elderly to starve to death. Also, their precious canoes were all destroyed
to prevent villagers from fleeing, and those who tried to escape were captured
and shot dead.
In this fashion, the residents of Palau suffered various damages and were
forced to make sacrifices under Japanese rule. For these damages, a special
committee to enforce compensation for former colonial rule was formed within
the Parliament of Palau composed mainly of those who used to serve in the
Service Corps, investigative units, and the navy training center. They
have negotiated with the Japanese government, demanding a return of the
remains of the dead; an investigation of the whereabouts of the missing;
salaries for three years of labor service to the Japanese military; and
the building of a memorial monument for those war dead who fought for Japan.
The Japanese government has constantly refused these demands, insisting
that the issue of postwar reparation was settled by the Pact of Micronesia.
5. Papua New Guinea
-- Massacre in Timbunke Village
During the Second World War, the Japanese military occupied Rabaul, Papua
New Guinea on January 23, 1942 and established the island as the most important
base in its southeast operations (covering the Solomon Islands and New
Guinea). More than 90,000 soldiers from the Army and Navy were allocated
to the island. Later, anticipating a counterattack by the Allied Forces
(mainly US and Australian forces), the Japanese military tried to strengthen
the defenses of the Rabaul Base by invading many areas of mainland New
Guinea to build bases supporting Rabaul. These activities were referred
to as the East New Guinea Operation (West New Guinea referred to the territory
currently comprising a part of Indonesia).
One of these support bases was located in Wewak in West Sepik on the North
Coast of mainland New Guinea. Japanese forces landed on Wewak in 1943 and
thereafter soldiers from other places flew into the base. By 1943, the
size of the Japanese forces occupying the North Coast of New Guinea (the
18th Troop) reached well over 10,000.
However, the fierce counterattack of Allied Forces from 1943 pushed the
Japanese military gradually into a desperate situation. After their defeat
in Aitape, west of Wewak, in August 1944, the Japanese forces retreated
to the southern slopes of the Alexander Mountains, which are located along
the central northern part of the Sepik River, where they were much like
a mouse in a trap. Villagers in many areas of Papua New Guinea suffered
greatly during these battles between Japan and the Allied Forces.
Villages were occupied and exposed to battle fire. Villagers fled to the
mountains; otherwise, men were forced into hard labor constructing an airport
and transporting armaments. Their food resources dwindled with the destruction
of farms and the contamination of rivers, and consequently they suffered
from starvation, as well as diseases such as malaria. Many died in the
bombings and battles. In particular, they suffered from criminal activities
of the Japanese military that included abuse, torture, and the murder of
locals, as well as the looting of their food (Allied Forces were supplied
with ample food stocks). Rape also occurred.
The Timbunke Village Massacre
Pushed back by Australian forces, the Japanese forces came to occupy the
the village of Timbuke, located in the grasslands on the banks of the Sepik
River. Villagers escaped to other villages located on its upper banks.
One day, an Australian military aircraft landed ten kilometers inland from
Timbunke to attack the Japanese occupying the village. The Japanese thought
the attack was supported by spying activities of Timbunke villagers.
On the morning of July 14th, the occupying Japanese forces informed Timbunke
refugees via villagers of Niaura that were collaborating with Japan, "The
battle is over. You can return to your village, and the Japanese military
is offering pigs as a peace offering." Timbunke villagers, believing
this, sailed back in their canoes on the Sepik River to the village.
However, what they found there was a fellow villager who was hanging from
a tree. He was to be the first of many victims in the massacre. He had
been pierced by an arrow used for catching cassowari (large tropical birds)
through the shoulder and was still alive (according to a villager, Shishimiban
Gaui). Upon seeing this, the villagers realized the message had been a
deception and that they had been trapped.
Japanese soldiers pulled the villagers from their canoes upon their arrival
and tied together all the men and boys by their hands with a rope and forced
them to stand in a line in front of some coconuts trees by a bomb crater.
Among them, eight villagers were picked out to be untied and left waiting
there. The women and children were put into two houses. Out of the eight
who were untied, four young men were told to come forward to the edge of
the crater. Then, men from other villages brought in by Japanese started
a fire and they placed upon it a drum barrel filled with water. As the
water started boiling, the four men were blindfolded. Two Japanese captains
each took one of the villagers and cut off his right arm and head. After
each killing, these Japanese soldiers plunged their swords into the boiling
water, then drying them with a cloth before yet another killing. The names
of the two captains were Hama and Kobayashi.
Next, the Japanese soldiers gave axes and knives to the villagers from
Niaura and encouraged them to attack the men who were roped together. First
with arrows, then with axes, and then with knives, they were tortured slowly
to prolong their agony. After the Niaura men finished their acts of brutality,
the Japanese soldiers stepped forward to execute their victims --by now
in tremendous agony-- by stabbing them with bayonets and then finally shooting
them. During the massacre, none of the women, children or those being killed
made any sound and everything was done in an oppressive air of silence.
In this way, 99 men in Timbunke were brutally murdered. Together with a
woman killed before this incident, the total number of victims of the massacre
reached 100.
Toward the evening, the Japanese soldiers gave the villagers of Niaura
freedom to rape Timbunke women and loot the houses. Women were dragged
out of the houses they had been put in along with babies and old women
and raped. Houses were plundered and destroyed.
The profound rage, the deep scars, and the devastation and poverty of the
Timbunke villagers have continued through to this day. It was extremely
difficult to rebuild the homes which had been pillaged and then destroyed,
along with the devastated village. There was no food, and there were no
materials or men for the rebuilding. It was impossible to reconstruct the
large houses such as they had existed before. Therefore, they now live
in small houses in no way comparable to their previous homes.
In 1992, Nippon TV sent a crew to Timbunke and broadcast, though briefly,
a story of the incident. The director of the program took former Captain
Hama, responsible for the massacre, back to the village and televised the
scene in which the former captain knelt down on the ground where the murdered
villagers were buried to apologize.
The villagers of Timbunke have appealed the incident. They submitted a
compensation claim to the Japanese government through its Embassy in Papua
New Guinea. The claim included a demand of 5,100 kina ( slightly over $
5,100 ). The Japanese government replied, "The issue of compensation
was settled with the San Francisco Peace Treaty."
6. The Massacre
on the Marshall Islands
Japanese troops occupied the Marshall Islands and put them under the control
of the 4th Facility Department of the Navy as one of the strategic bases
used against the US. At that time, about 10,000 Korean gunzoku were laboring
under the often violent command of Japanese gunzoku to construct an airport
at Mili in the Mili Atoll, where the headquarters of the Japanese garrison
was located.
Due to a food shortage after supplies were cut off, the Japanese force
on Mili was split up, scattered among the small coral islands, and left
to make their own way. About 20 Japanese and 125 Korean gunzoku moved to
Chelpong Island, where they spent their day collecting rodents, snakes
and fish for food. On February 23rd and again on the 27th, two Japanese
gunzoku, each time they went to find food on a neighboring uninhabited
island, killed a Korean gunzoku that they had brought along with them.
Having eaten the flesh of their victim, these two Japanese gunzoku brought
back the remainders to Chelpong Island and fed them to other Korean gunzoku,
pretending that it was whale meat.
On the 28th, several Korean gunzoku, who were worried about their two missing
companions, landed on the aforementioned island to determine what had happened.
These Korean gunzoku thought it inevitable that armed Japanese would kill
other Koreans for food if the shortage continued. To circumvent this, they
believed had no choice but to kill the Japanese gunzoku. They gathered
together under the leadership of Pak Jong-won, who had gained the trust
of the Japanese, to plan out the killings, which were to be committed before
daybreak on March 1st.However, the conspiracy was discovered, leading to
gunfire between the Japanese and Koreans. The Japanese gunzoku escaped
from the island for help.
Around three o'clock that afternoon, about 60 Navy soldiers stationed on
Ruknor on Atoll Mili attacked Chepng Island. They began firing at the Korean
gunzoku as well as the Marshall Islanders who were led by Chief Wartack
on the seashore. Better armed, the Japanese overwhelmed the Koreans and
islanders, whose ammunition was soon exhausted. However, Japanese soldiers
shot those Koreans attempting to surrender, and captured about one hundred
Korean gunzoku and thirty local people, then killing them all with guns
or swords. As they killed all the islanders including women, children and
elderly, Chelpong Island became deserted, and remains so to this day.
Pak Jong-won managed to escape with other 14 Korean gunzoku who were rescued
by the US forces offshore.
The Japanese repression and persecution of Korean gunzoku and local islanders
described above as carried out under the command of Colonel Shiga, commander
of the Mili garrison.
Following the massacre at Chelbon island, the Japanese military committed
another massacre on Lekonwar Island. All the islanders were assembled and
the men were ordered to dig a large hole. Japanese killed the men first
and then women and children with their bayonets, and threw their bodies
into the hole. The number of deaths was believed to be about a hundred.
After the war, the people of the Marshall islands investigated the circumstances
and subsequently demanded compensation from the Japanese government. However,
the government replied that the issue had been settled by the 1969 Japan-US
Agreement.
7. Forced Relocation
of Aleuts and Compensation
Occupation of Attu
The Doolittle Air-raid over Tokyo in April 1942 was the first US air bombing
of mainland Japan. The Japanese military thus became acutely aware of the
existence of a US base in the Aleutian Islands, and greatly feared its
presence. In May 1942, the Japanese Navy, with the help of the Army, planned
an attack on Attu and 1,134 soldiers led by Leutenant-Commander Hozumi
landed on the island on June 8th. At that time, the island was inhabited
by 42 Aleuts and two Americans -- radio engineer Foster Jones and his wife
Etta, a primary school teacher. The couple attempted suicide, fearing capture
by the Japanese military. The husband died but the wife recovered after
receiving treatment from Japanese military doctors. During the occupation,
the Japanese military was air bombed but suffered no serious damage. A
military photographer, Kichiyoshi Sugiyama, took pictures of the friendly
association between Japanese soldiers and local children. After two months
of occupation, the Hozumi regiment was ordered to move from Attu to Kiska
Island. As they feared possible information leaks from the Aleuts in Attu
after their departure, they decided to relocate all of them to Japan. Those
Aleuts were allowed to bring with them their belongings such as heater,
ovens, boats, and fishing equipment on the ship Yokomaru as well as $1,400
in cash. However, all houses and buildings were burned down.
Life in Otaru City
The 42 Aleuts (one of them died on the ship) were lodged in small rooms
of roughly 14 square meters in a dormitory for single employees of the
National Railroad in Wakatake-Cho, Otaru City in Hokkaido. A local policeman
lived with them as custodian. Although not mandatory, they worked for a
soap factory one kilometer from the dormitory from 9:30 in the morning
to 4:00 in the afternoon and were paid one yen a day. However, they found
Japanese food poor in comparison with the abundant salmon, seal and whale
of Attu. After their return, an American newspaper cited them as complaining
that they were fed smelly fish and rotten vegetables, but these were in
fact dried fish and pickled vegetables. Although some bread and meat was
rationed, on the whole they could not adapt to the local diet and often
became sick. Since their first contact with Russians in the 18th century,
the Aleut population had sharply decreased from originally 20,000 to 2,000
by the 1940s due to the spread of small pox, syphilis and tuberculosis.
Upon their landing on Otaru, about half of them --twenty -- were already
suffering from advanced tuberculosis. Their symptoms had been diminished
by the hi-protein and hi-calorie diet of Attu, but quickly resurfaced due
to poor hygienic conditions on the ship and inadequate nutrition in the
Japanese diet. The same was seen in America: all 881 Aleuts living in the
Aleutian Islands excepting Attu were forcibly relocated to southwestern
Alaska. (Americans were allowed to stay on the Aleutian Islands) and 40%
of them, about the same percentage as in Japan, died in the camp of tuberculosis.
In Otaru, doctors in Wakatake-cho visited the Aleut dormitory everyday
to provide health care, and those in serious conditions were hospitalized.
Nevertheless, many Aleuts died from tuberculosis, a terminal illness of
that period. Later they were moved from Wakatake-cho to a former school
building in Shimizu-cho, but their life was for most part spent in the
sanatorium in Otaru.
Japan's Defeat and Repatriation
Following the defeat of Japan on August 15, 1945, the Aleuts were liberated.
Most of the Japanese who were in contact with the Aleuts, including police,
doctors, nurses and neighbors, were generally liked by them except one
policeman who initially controlled them. He once physically punished an
Aleut woman he thought was lazy to the point of injury. Some Aleuts attempted
at first to report the policeman as abusive to the Red Cross investigators
visiting them, but Sergeant Shikauchi, who succeeded the policeman, gained
their confidence and dissuaded them from doing so. "It cannot do to
put Shikauchi in trouble," said the Aleuts and reported favorably
of the conditions in Otaru to the Red Cross. Some of them told Shikauchi
that they want to stay in Otaru, or tried zealously to persuade him to
come with them to America. Shikauchi went with them to the US base in Atsugi,
but declined to go to America with them.
Out of the 42 Aleuts who departed Attu, 22 died during the three years
spent away. Including five babies born in Otaru, 25 made their way home.
These Aleuts left Otaru on September 17, 1945, and flew to Okinawa from
Atsugi on the 21st, during which the airplane circled many times over Hiroshima,
just after the atomic bombing. From Okinawa, they sailed to Manila, San
Francisco, and Seattle, and finally arrived at Atka Island in the Aleutian
Islands four months after their departure.
Meanwhile, Etta Jones, who had attempted suicide in Attu, was detained
separately from the Aleuts at a yacht club in Yokohama. She was released
on August 31, 1945, and arrived at Seattle on September 1st to meet her
younger brother. In Seattle, she was received by Secretary of the State
Harold Ikkus, who handed her a check for over $7,000 as unpaid salary and
bonus. In contrast, the Aleuts had to travel for four months and received
only $195 each in living support. Moreover, although they reached the Aleutian
Islands, the 25 Aleuts could not make their way back home to Attu. This
was because the US would not allow them to live on the island, which was
the closest to the USSR and thus an important strategic base for the US.
As a result, they were required to live on Atka Island 800 kilometers away,
where they had a history of hostile conflict with the local residents,
and have lived in isolation to the north of Atka village. Only thirteen
of them survive today.
Compensation
Soon after their repatriation, these Aleuts began the process of making
compensation claims against Japan. They are plainly in a position to demand
compensation as the violation of private property and forced relocation
of civilians by an occupying force is a war crime violating the 1907 Hague
Convention Respecting the Law and Customs of War on Land. Aleuts on Attu
have demanded compensation for 22 deaths ($10,000 for each totaling $220,000)
and $370,000 for damage caused to their village, including destroyed churches
and fox huts, to the Japanese government. To their frustration, the American
government waived those reparation claims which affected the Aleuts with
the conclusion of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty as it had, in the
same year, after selling properties confiscated from the Japanese, paid
$32,000 to those Aleuts.
Later, in the 1970s, along with the issue of the forced relocation of Japanese-Americans,
the issue of relocation of Aleuts was discussed in the US Congress, which
in 1988 enacted the "Acts Concerning the Forcible Relocation of Citizens
during the War" and the "Restoration of Status Quo of Aleutian
and Pribilof Islands Law." Accordingly, the US government paid $20,000
to each Japanese-American and $12,000 to each Aleut. In addition to this,
for Aleutian in Attu, compensation of up to $15 million for the damage
of their village was included in the budget.
Thus, the compensation for which the Japanese government is responsible
was in fact made by the US government. To this extent, the issue of compensation
for Aleuts stands at the juncture of postwar compensation issues in Japan
and the US. In this context, if Japan did nothing while America provided
compensation, it would continue to be pointed out as a typical case demonstrating
the lack of ability on the part of the Japanese government to uphold its
ethical standards. (Most of this section is based on the studies of Stuart
Henry, a professor at Mejirogakuen College, who has been interested in
the issue.)
8. Korean War-Disabled
in Japan
Jong Sang-gun, a South Korean in Japan who lost his right arm during the
Pacific war as a gunzoku in the Japanese military, filed suit on January
1, 1991, demanding the Japanese government apply the "Act for the
Relief of the War Disabled and the Bereaved Families of War Dead"
and pay compensation of 10 million yen on his behalf in Osaka District
Court.
Mr. Jong was born in Jeju Do, South Korea on November 10, 1921. At the
age of 21, he was conscripted as a gunzoku into the Japanese Navy in 1942.
He was shipped from the port of Pusan on July 1st to Woyje Atoll in the
Marshall Islands, where he was required to do construction work on an airport
and to repair tanks. Around December of 1943, he was badly injured in a
US air raid which resulted in the amputation of his right forearm, limited
use of his thumb, and a loss of balance due to the puncture of both eardrums.
Treated on the front line, he was sent back by medical ship in January
1944, and hospitalized at the Yokosuka Navy Hospital. Later, he was moved
to Nisseki Hospital in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, receiving treatment for
a period of six months. After that, he was treated at the navy Facility
Department in Shibarura, Tokyo but the facility was dismantled upon the
defeat of Japan.
Having lost one arm, and with difficulty in hearing, Mr. Jong was thrown
into postwar Japanese society where he had no no means of support without
receiving compensation. He made a meager living through the collection
of recyclable items and working at minor jobs in Osaka. In 1949 he married
a Japanese woman and had three children. He worked in the book sales business
from 1954 to 1988, but is currently unemployed.
On April 30, 1952 the Japanese government enacted the "Act for the
Relief of the War Disabled and the Bereaved Families of War Dead"
(the Relief Act hereafter) to assist former soldiers and gunzoku who had
been injured, had contracted illnesses, or had died during their terms
of service, as well as their survivors. Although the government provides
pensions or lump-sum payments to the disabled, Mr. Jong was denied any
government support. This was due to a government attachment to the Relief
Act of a provision stating, "For those to whom the Family Registry
Law is not applicable, the application of this act will be suspended for
some time," for the purpose of excluding Korean residents in Japan
despite the fact that they were conscripted in the same fashion as Japanese
for the war the Japanese government started. Although Mr. Jong was a Japanese
citizen at the time of the enactment of the Relief Act, he was excluded
as his family registry was in South Korea.
From 1962, the Relief Act was extended to cover the Koreans in Japan who
had automatically lost their Japanese nationality upon the conclusion of
the San Francisco Peace Treaty if they were later naturalized as Japanese
citizens. However with the conclusion of the Japan-ROK Basic Treaty in
1965 they were once again excluded even if they were naturalized. The South
Korean Government later paid out 300,000 won (only 190,000 yen) for each
of the 95,000 applications filed by former soldiers and gunzoku of Japanese
military or their survivors. However this was only a domestic policy and
Koreans in Japan were excluded. This led Mr. Jong to take a stand. He submitted
letters of appeal to the Minister of Health and Welfare in 1971 and to
Osaka Prefecture in 1974 requesting a pension, but both authorities dismissed
his appeal on the grounds of his nationality.
The Relief Act provides state compensation for those deaths and injuries
caused to individuals by their forced participation in the war as Imperial
subjects. Especially for Koreans victimized during Japan's pursuit of war
through an illegal condition of colonial rule, it is obvious that Japan
is obligated both ethically and politically to offer compensation, and
it is totally unacceptable to treat them less fairly than Japanese. These
Koreans had Japanese nationality imposed upon them with the Annexation
of Korea by Japan and were forced into military service for Japan as an
obligation of Imperial subjects.
With the acceptance of both the Cairo and the Potsdam Declaration, along
with the conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, the legitimacy of
Japan's invasion and colonial rule of Korea was totally rejected and Japan
was mandated to restore Korea to its precolonial condition. During the
process, Koreans lost their Japanese nationality. For Koreans who died
or were disabled in the war, a return to their previous way of life was
impossible as the dead can never be returned to life and a lost part of
the body will never regrow. Thus Japan is responsible for providing them
state compensation at least equal to and preferably better than that received
by Japanese and that should be the way to recover their original condition
in real terms. It is not merely a deliberate evasion of postwar responsibility
but also a criminal act for the Japanese government to exclude domestic
Korean residents suffering from war-related injuries, or deaths from benefits
provided by the Relief Act by inserting a nationality clause into and including
the Family Registry Law in the Relief Act taking advantage of the principle
of status quo ante (loss of Japanese nationality). This also clearly violates
Article 14 of the Japanese Constitution (equality before the law).
Furthermore, it is obvious that the nationality clause in the Relief Act
violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Covenant-B),
of which Japan has been a participant, and which provides equality for
both citizens and foreigners,.
Article 26 of Covenant B reads, "...the law shall prohibit any discrimination
and guarantee equal and effective protection against discrimination on
any grounds such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, property ownership, birth, or
any other status."
It is clear that the nationality clause in the Relief Act violates these
provisions.
742 Senegalese veterans of the French Army appealed to the UN Commission@on
Human Rights, claiming, "Senegal nationals who served in the French
Army before Senegal's independence in 1960 have been treated unfairly with
respect to the payment of comparable veteran pensions to those veterans
with French nationality. This is a violation of Article 26 of Covenant-B."
In response the committee decided the following:
"In this case, there is exceptional treatment due to the acquisition
of a new nationality as a result of the independence of the state. In the
commission's view, nationality falls under the category of 'other status'
provided for in Article 26-2......a pension is paid not because of one's
nationality but because of one's past service in the military. After the
independence of Senegal, although these soldiers lost their French nationality
upon becoming Senegal nationals, they continued to be treated as equal
to those with French nationality with regard to the payment of pension
for the 14 years that followed. A change in nationality itself cannot be
a reason for justifying exceptional treatment, in that payment of the pension
is in return for one's provision of military service, for which there is
no distinction between Senegalese and French citizens. Therefore, the commission
judged the exceptional treatment given to the informants was not based
on rational and objective standards, but falls into the category of discrimination
prohibited by Covenant-B."
Another point to be made is that the issue of compensation was by no means
settled with the 1965 Japan-ROK Claim Agreement. The agreement is strictly
limited to an interstate level and sets no restriction on the individual
claims for compensation by victims against the Japanese government. Also,
the agreement itself clearly states that it is not to be applied to issues
concerning property, rights and interests of Korean residents in Japan.
Therefore, it is unacceptable to deny claims for compensation made by South
Korean residents in Japan based on the Japan-ROK Basic Treatment.
In 1991, Sok Song-ki in Kanagawa Prefecture and Chin So-kil in Saitama
Prefecture submitted a claim for pension based on the Relief Act to the
Minister of Health and Welfare. As the claim was rejected, they filed suit
in 1992 in Tokyo District Court. The case proceeded relatively quickly,
and the ruling rejecting the claim was given on July 15, 1994. The ruling
continued to make an argument based upon the tolerance limit theory and
left the question of compensation in the hands of legislative authority.
On the question of compensation to those from the Korean Peninsula, the
court ruled, "It is scheduled to be resolved by an agreement between
the governments of South Korea and Japan," while (to exclude them
through a nationality clause) "has sufficient rationality." On
the other hand, however, the court added, "There is an undeniable
point to the argument... (that)... it is unacceptable to deny any compensation
to them with reasons such as their nationality, considering the fact that
Japanese nationality was forced upon them under colonial rule and that
they were thereby required to engage in war activities. In this sense,
it should be said that the current situation demands some legislative action."
It is essentially the same as in the aforementioned case of Taiwanese,
that the court, while admitting to the injustice in reality still avoided
making any judgment and left the issue to the parliament. When will the
judicature courageously execute its own given power to check as based on
the system of separation of the three branches of government?
9. Question of Corporate
Responsibility for Forced Labor
In late September of 1991, a South Korean man visited
Japan with a petition to Kawasaki Steel Mill owned by NKK Corp. in his
possession. Kim Geung-Sok was his name. This was the first case of a Korean
relocated during the war filing suit against the company he was assigned
to for an apology and reparation.
Mr. Kim was relocated in October 1942. At the age of 16, he was taken as
a "substitute" for his older brother, who was indispensable as
the main wage earner of the family. "We were assembled at Seoul Station
and checked for possible physical disorders. After that, we traveled by
train to Pusan, where we boarded a ship to Shimonoseki, where we were put
on a train. Some laborer-type person with rubber-soled socks watched us
the entire time and I was really scared."
They arrived at Kawasaki Steel Mill owned by NKK Corp. Kim was assigned
to operate cranes in the Second Steel Section. He operated cranes for 12
hours a day during the week and for 18 hours on Saturdays (night shift)
without time off. Despite the heavy work load, he was fed a poor diet of
only rice, barley and wheat --mixed together with construction shovels--
and a soup similar to salt water. Under strict surveillance and rough treatment,
his only pleasure was the salary. However, even the salary turned out to
be quite different from what he was initially promised. Despite the guarantee
of the recruiter, "If you obey and work well, you will be paid at
least 80 yen a month," in reality, however, they could only earn around
25 yen for 30 days of labor. After an automatic withdrawal of savings,
membership dues for the mutual aid association, and a contribution to national
defense, the actual money they received was just around 10 yen. As uniforms
were not provided, they had to cloth themselves with what they had or was
sent from home.
In April 1943, the Korean laborers began a strike that was triggered by
a quote from the company's labor manager in a pamphlet which had been circulated
that read, "Koreans have low capacity but are big eaters." On
April 10th, 837 Korean workers demanded to be returned to Korea and on
the next day, 300 night shift workers went on strike. Two days later the
police arrested 15 alleged leaders and the strike was over.
Kim Geung-Sok, in possession of the pamphlets, was considered the leader
and so was taken inside an office, had his shirt removed, and was severely
beaten with a wooden sword until he was half-dead. His extensive injuries
included broken bones in the right shoulder and dislocation of the right
arm. As a result of the injuries, he became unable to work and was repatriated
in February 1944.
"Life continued to be hard," said Kim. "My older brother
was also relocated later to work in the coal mines in Yubari, Hokkaido.
He died soon after the war and I assume he was buried somewhere. My father
died in his prime and my mother followed him in 1987 at the age of 87,
leaving me her request: "At any cost, find your brother's bones and
make his grave." In South Korea, those who fail to fulfill the wishes
of the parents are considered to be subhuman. I must take my brother's
soul, which is wandering in Japan, back with me."
His actions were followed by other South Koreans, who were taken to Japan
to do factory work for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and later suffered in
the atomic bombing. They formed a group to hold the company accountable.
One of the members is Yang Gi-Sooung, who attended the International Forum
on War Reparations for The Asia-Pacific Regions in August 1991.
He was forcibly relocated by draft warrant in August 1944 to work for the
Hiroshima Machine Factory of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. At that time,
the company guaranteed them a salary comparable to that of state workers,
and promised that it would send half of their salaries to their Korean
families, who now had to live without their primary wage earners. The company
also promised that the savings automatically withdrawn from the salary
would be paid in cash at the time of their departure home. However, none
of these promises were kept. That part of the salary which they thought
had been sent to their families in Korea had in fact never been received.
Even now, over 40 years after the end of the war, they have yet to receive
any back pay.
On August 6, 1945, when Mr. Yang and his colleagues were just about to
start work after the morning gathering, an atomic bomb exploded. There
was a lightning-bright flash and they were all knocked down by the blast
and ran into the air-raid shelters. At that time, Mr. Yang injured his
hip. Despite five operations after the war, he still suffers from complications.
Similarly, Kim Sun-Gil, a South Korean who was drafted to work for Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries at its Nagasaki factory and was exposed to an atomic bomb
blast there, filed suit against the company and the state, demanding his
unpaid salary and compensation in Nagasaki District Court in July 1992.
In September of the same year, former South Korean members of the Women's
Service Corps (teishintai) filed suit in Toyama District Court against
a company called Fujietsu.
The abuse and brutalities inflicted on these Korean laborers by Japanese
corporations during the Sino-Japan and Pacific Wars cannot be excused by
arguments claiming their actions could not be helped as it was during the
war, or that they were just obeying the orders of the state. Thus, actions
to pursue corporate responsibility have increased.
Shamefully enough, the Association of Construction Contractors set up a
Committee dealing with the Management of Chinese and Korean Labor immediately
after the war to demand compensation from the Japanese government, claiming
that corporations had suffered losses as a result of having employed Chinese
and Koreans. They received a total of 46 million yen from the state as
compensation for employing 35,000 Chinese and Koreans. However, no evidence
has been found that the Japanese state made any compensation to these Chinese
and Koreans.
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