April 26, 2010
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A Japanese construction firm has agreed to pay compensation to Chinese people forced to work as laborers in Japan during World War Two.
Nishimatsu Construction announced on Monday that it would contribute about 1.4 million dollars to a trust fund to compensate 183 people who worked for the company in Niigata, north of Tokyo, in 1944 and 1945.
Five of them had sued Nishimatsu, but the Supreme Court dismissed the case 3 years ago, saying that individuals cannot claim war-related compensation after China renounced this right in 1972.But the firm decided to contribute to the fund in an effort to improve its image, which has been tarnished by a domestic political funding scandal.
Last October, Nishimatsu reached a similar settlement with former Chinese laborers who worked in Hiroshima.
A Japanese Foreign Ministry report says about 40,000 Chinese were forcibly brought to Japan as laborers during the war. Some of these filed lawsuits against their former employers, but almost all of these have been dismissed.
At a news conference on Monday, the son of a former laborer praised the settlement as historically significant, adding that his late father would have been pleased. He expressed the hope that forced labor lawsuits against other Japanese companies will be settled.
A lawyer for Nishimatsu said the company felt the need to compensate the people who worked in Niigata, following the settlement of the Hiroshima case.
2010/04/26 19:06(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
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