POINT OF VIEW/ Ken Arimitsu: Redress for war is 1st step to regional fraternity

During visits to South Korea and China in October, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama revealed his vision for an East Asian community built on a spirit of "fraternity."

A peaceful and stable regional bloc would certainly ensure greater prosperity for all, but Japan cannot hope to attain that goal until it addresses some long-outstanding grievances--in particular the settlement of compensation for wartime misdeeds.

These include, for example, forcibly bringing Koreans and Chinese to Japan as laborers, and subjecting prisoners of war from allied powers to forced labor. The government must address the issue of Japanese POWs held by the former Soviet Union in Siberian labor camps, and the matter of civilians affected by U.S. bombings across major cities of Japan. It must also consider its responsibility to recover the remains of Japanese soldiers who perished in foreign lands. These problems are wide-ranging and transcend national borders.

The sad truth is that 64 years after the end of World War II, so many people continue to suffer from the mental and physical scars left by atrocities.

I have been working for victims of wartime misdeeds by Japan for nearly 20 years. Since 1990 alone, there have been more than 70 damage lawsuits brought to courts in Japan. Some of the rulings acknowledged the illegality of the acts, showed sympathy to the victims and urged new legislation to provide for settlements. But with the exception of a small number of cases that sought court-mediated settlements with companies involved in forced labor, the courts dismissed all of the claims by plaintiffs.

In 1993, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono released a statement that recognized the involvement of Japanese military authorities in a program to recruit so-called comfort women, who were forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers. The statement was based on interviews government officials conducted with 16 women in South Korea over five days. The government did not even bother to interview victims in other areas, such as China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Successive prime ministers have said they would honor the 1995 "Murayama statement," a war apology statement made by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama that recognized Japanese aggression and expressed "deep remorse" and a "heartfelt apology."

But what victims of that aggression want is for the Japanese people to understand the nature of the atrocities committed against them.

It has been widely reported by foreign media that the former mining company run by the father of the recently defeated prime minister, Taro Aso, forced about 300 Australian, British and Dutch prisoners of war to work at a coal mine in Fukuoka Prefecture during the war. Until last year-end, Aso continued to deny the allegations, saying, "No facts have been confirmed."

When the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare disclosed documents attesting to the credibility of the report, the prime minister retracted his previous remarks. But he would not make a direct apology.

For nearly six decades, Liberal Democratic Party administrations continued to sidestep issues such as this one. But their failure to own up to Japan's wartime atrocities and offer compensation has only exacerbated the suffering of victims and undermined trust in Japan throughout the international community, especially in Asia.

Government branches that deal with these problems are also split. Some are overseen by the Foreign Ministry, while others fall under the jurisdiction of the welfare ministry, the internal affairs ministry, the justice ministry and the Cabinet Office. Because of this bureaucratic fragmentation, people seeking redress complain they have been shunted from one office to another, and as a result they have became increasingly distrustful of Japan. The government should adopt a policy to reverse this ill-feeling before it tackles the formation of an East Asian community.

Hatoyama has had many opportunities to meet with war victims and their bereaved families. Now his new administration needs to give concrete shape to its remorse and resolve to make amends.

The Democratic Party of Japan and other groups have prepared a range of bills to provide for war-related compensation. I urge them to put their heads together to ensure legislation is achieved. The government should clarify its responsibility and secure necessary funds in a step toward building trust and peace in the region.

* * *

The author is a coordinator of the Lawyers and Citizens' Association for Post-War Judicial Implementation.(IHT/Asahi: December 9,2009)