A Japanese court Monday rejected demands for compensation of
about 184 million yen (US$1.56 million) by a group of Chinese
forced to work as slave laborers at a Japanese mine during World
War II, a court official said.
The Miyazaki District court dismissed the suit seeking damages
from the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Metals Corp, formerly
Mitsubishi Metal, that operated the mine in Hinokage on the
southern island of Kyushu during the WWII, said court spokeswoman
Tomomi Hirata.
Kyodo News agency quoted judge Yumiko Tokuoka as saying the
state has an obligation to pay damages because Japan forcibly
brought Chinese into the country "as a national policy that was a
crime against humanity," but added the deadline for filing
compensation claims 20 years under Japanese law had expired.
"This is an unjust verdict ... but (the court) recognized the
facts in detail as we claimed" that the Chinese were forced to work
under bad and harsh conditions, said Sachiko Narumi, lead lawyer
for the plaintiffs.
The suit was filed by seven Chinese men who said they were among
250 people, mostly from China's Shandong Province, who were forcibly brought
to Makimine mine in Hinokage town toward the end of WWII.
(China Daily via agencies March 27, 2007)
