hankyoreh

The son of a victim of forced labor by the Japanese company Mitsubishi Materials (formerly Mitsubishi Mining) weeps during an interview in Beijing while holding a photograph of his father after the company agreed to pay reparations of 100

While the Japanese government and Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Co. are protesting a ruling by South Korea’s Supreme Court that Koreans who were conscripted into forced labor during Japan’s colonial rule must be compensated, this reaction strikes some as a double standard, considering that Japanese companies have basically compensated some Chinese victims regardless of judicial rulings.

Though there are some calls for Japanese companies to apologize and provide compensation on a voluntary basis, the Japanese government’s hardline stance is likely to be an obstacle.

When Chinese victims of forced labor filed a lawsuit in China in 2014, Mitsubishi Materials (formerly Mitsubishi Mining) announced in 2016, two years later, that it would be settling with as many as 3,765 individuals by paying a sum of 100,000 yen (US$886) a person. Thus far, however, a settlement in the courts has only been reached with eleven individuals, and settlement negotiations are still underway with the rest of the former workers.

In 2010, Nishimatsu Construction made an apology and paid 128 million yen (US$1.1 million) to a Chinese NGO on behalf of 183 Chinese forced to work in Niigata Prefecture. In 2007, the Supreme Court of Japan had ruled against the plaintiffs in this case, while also expressing its hope that Nishimatsu Construction would make an effort to remedy the harm done.

When China normalized diplomatic relations with Japan in 1972, the two countries’ joint statement declared that, for the sake of amicable relations, the Chinese government forfeited its right to claim war reparations from Japan. Though Japanese companies cite this as a reason for denying legal responsibility, they have apologized and provided compensation to individuals out of court.

But Japan maintains the position that the forced mobilization of Koreans during its colonial rule over Korea was a legal action under the National Mobilization Law, which was enacted in 1938, which distinguishes it from China, which Japan had invaded. That’s why Mitsubishi Materials has declared its intention to apologize to and compensate Chinese and Allied prisoners of war who were forced to provide labor while refusing to do the same for Koreans.

In 1997, Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Co. did pay 2 million yen (US$17,720) each to the family members of 11 Koreans who died while doing forced labor at the Kamaishi Iron Works in Iwate Prefecture, but this was very atypical.

After the South Korean Supreme Court made its ruling on Oct. 30, a Japanese NGO called the Group Supporting Lawsuits by Former Forced Workers at Japan Iron and Steel Co. held a press conference in Tokyo. “It’s true that China was in a state of war with Japan and that Korea was under Japan’s colonial rule at the time. But both China and South Korea resolved [their wartime issues] through treaties that were based on the Treaty of San Francisco,” the NGO said, contending that there was no reason to treat people from Korea any differently.

Even if a Japanese company seeks to offer an apology and compensation, some expect that they would be blocked by the Japanese government, under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. While mention is made of establishing a foundation to remedy the harm done, public opinion and the Japanese government’s attitude remain a problem.

“I think that Japanese companies are willing to go along with some level of compensation, but the Abe administration isn’t willing to accept that,” said Lee Jong-won, a professor at Waseda University.

“This ruling lays bare the contradictions of the 1965 system, which tried to sweep under the rug the illegality of colonial rule. The chill in South Korea-Japan relations will continue for the time being. But since Japan also has to cooperate with South Korea in regard to inter-Korean relations and North Korea-US relations, I think this will be toned down.”

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]