Two groups of Chinese who were used as forced labor during the
War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45) suffered another setback
in their demand for compensation when a court refused to allow a
Chinese lawyer to assist them during their hearings.
One group of forty-two Chinese who were forced to labor in Tokyo
and another group of twelve forced to work in Niigata during the
War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45) have been denied the
assistance of a Chinese lawyer during hearings of their ongoing
claims for compensation.
According to Japan's civil procedure law, parties can be
assisted when they suffer from physical or mental challenges such
as poor hearing, old age or the need for professional knowledge to
enable litigation to go forward.
Ma Ji, a spokesperson for the Chinese League of Forced Chinese
Laborers in Japan, said the court's aim was, "To weaken the
laborers' strength and push them to failure in the lawsuits."
According to a statement, the survivors are all very old now and
many have physical disabilities. They say they can only smoothly
communicate with Japanese lawyers and thoroughly express their
ideas with the help of a Chinese lawyer.
Most of them are not well educated and say they need assistance
to provide them with Chinese as well as Japanese legal help. The
court denied their request for assistance from lawyer Kang Jian
during two hearings; on September 30 for the Tokyo case and on
October 20 for the Niigata plaintiffs.
Kang, who has acted as litigation assistant for Chinese in nine
trials, said she is indignant over the matter. "This is an obvious
injustice and abuse of power. The Tokyo Higher Court's support for
the Japanese Government's groundless proposal shows that they
disregard the rights of Chinese laborers," she said.
About 40,000 Chinese laborers were forced to work in Japan
during the war, doing hard physical labor in coalmines, factories,
railways and other sites.
They began initiating lawsuits in 1995 and some Japanese courts
have acknowledged the fact that Chinese plaintiffs were forced to
become slave laborers, but most of the claims have been turned down
because the statute of limitations for seeking redress under the
civil code is 20 years.
The Niigata laborers are defending a previous win that is being
appealed against by the Japanese government and several firms,
including Mitsubishi, who will be liable to pay compensation to
them if the original verdict is upheld.
(China Daily November 10, 2004)