Japanese Firm to Pay Chinese WWII Laborers

TOKYO —  One of Japan’s largest construction companies, Kajima Corp., on Wednesday agreed to pay $4.6 million for conscripted Chinese workers who were tortured and killed in a labor camp run by its World War II-era predecessor.

It is believed to be the first time that a major Japanese firm has compensated foreigners forced into labor during wartime and could be the first of many similar awards. More than 50 wartime compensation suits have been filed in Japan by Taiwanese, Chinese and Korean workers.

So far, the Japanese courts have ruled against the laborers, saying that the statute of limitations has expired and that Japanese companies do not bear responsibility for the actions of their predecessors.

The $4.6 million is hardly a huge sum, but it is about 10 times the amount that the company offered about a decade ago. Takashi Niimi, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, called the settlement historic.

“We hope this will become a bridge that will help further promote friendship between Japan and China in the next century,” he said.

The proceeds, to be administered by the International Committee of the Red Cross in China, will be used to compensate survivors among the 986 laborers, as well as the families of the workers who perished.

The laborers worked on a river project run by Kajima in Hanaoka, in northern Japan. They rioted June 20, 1945, against cruel working conditions, including inadequate food, and killed five Japanese supervisors. In retaliation, 113 Chinese laborers allegedly died at the hands of Kajima officials and many others were tortured.

In 1989, a group representing 11 victims, including eight survivors, demanded compensation and a public apology from Kajima. The company publicly apologized the following year and offered about $460,000, at today’s exchange rates, for memorial services.

The group rejected the offer and filed suit in 1995, demanding about $565,000 in compensation, claiming that Kajima’s present success--it had revenues of about $17 billion in 1999--was built on the backs of the Chinese workers. The Tokyo District Court rejected the claim in December 1997. The plaintiffs appealed, and the higher court urged the two sides to settle.

Kajima, which reiterated its 1990 apology, did not admit any guilt.

“For a long time, we wanted to commemorate the victims, but we are not legally responsible,” a spokesman said today.

Xi Zhan Ming, 74, vice president of a Chinese residents group in Hokkaido, in northern Japan, that was not involved directly in the Kajima case but has been active in other suits, wasn’t satisfied.

“The important thing is for them to admit guilt and make an apology. They were responsible as a corporation, along with the Japanese government, and they should admit what they’ve done,” he said.