EDITORIAL: The 'other war' in Siberia

Age is catching up with Japanese former POWs held in Siberia by the Soviet Union after World War II. The survivors are in their 80s. Some have been making frequent visits to the Diet. Theirs is a frustrating ordeal: All they seek is good news.

In the aftermath of World War II, hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner by Soviet troops in Manchuria and interned in labor camps in Siberia. Conditions were brutal.

A bill to provide up to 1.5 million yen ($16,500) to each survivor remains stalled in the Diet, even though the proposed legislation is close to enactment. The detainees received no wages nor compensation for the back-breaking work they were forced to do.

A bipartisan agreement has been reached on the bill, which was mainly sponsored by lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Japan. After passing the Upper House, the legislation stopped dead in its tracks following Yukio Hatoyama's abrupt resignation as prime minister.

The bill is designed to deal with an issue that was created by Japan's war of aggression and the Soviet Union's labor camp system. The issue has been left unaddressed by both governments for too long. The survivors must not be allowed to suffer from pitiless politics any longer. Lawmakers should figure out a way to enact the bill during the current Diet session that ends Wednesday.

An estimated 600,000 Japanese were detained in Siberia, where many spent 11 years toiling in frigid conditions. Some 60,000 Japanese are believed to have perished. Many details from that time remain unclear.

The two countries abandoned their rights to demand war reparations from each other under the 1956 Japan-Soviet joint declaration. As the agreement left the former detainees without any way to demand unpaid wages from the Soviet Union, they sued the Japanese government. In 1997, however, the Supreme Court turned down their demand, saying that Japanese from all walks of life should accept war-caused damages equally.

The government has provided each of the former detainees with government bonds worth 100,000 yen and travel coupons of the same value as "consolation." The government has stuck to the position that it has already done all the postwar work it must do with regard to the issue.

The bill represents a shift in the government's position. The amount of relief would be determined by the length of each person's detention. That effectively means the money represents compensation for what they endured. The former detainees, according to news reports, regard the proposed legislation as a sign of "the recovery of their dignity."

There are, however, some problems with the bill that cannot be overlooked. For instance, Koreans and Taiwanese who were detained as "Japanese soldiers" at the end of the war are not eligible for the relief because of their nationalities. There is concern within the government that extending relief to these people could have unwanted repercussions on other war reparation issues. As a result, a provision calling on the government to consider relief for such detainees has been eliminated. It would go against the spirit of the law to exclude these people, who are victims of both Japan's colonial rule and Soviet actions. Relief measures for them need to be considered once the bill becomes law.

The bill also calls for efforts to uncover information concerning conditions that prevailed, so as to pass on the experiences of the detainees to future generations.

What must not be forgotten is that Japan's invasion of the Asian land mass was behind the tragedy. Why were Japanese troops of the Kantogun, or Kwantung Army, including Koreans and Taiwanese, stationed in the region? Why were so many Japanese troops seized and imprisoned by the Soviets?

Instead of simply trying to pass on stories about the tragedy, Japan should make a determined effort to uncover the historical truth so that it can learn from the past. Russia, which is responsible for what happened in Siberia, should offer to help in the endeavor.

This is only one of the many issues concerning war damages that have been raised at home and abroad. With its proposal for an East Asian community, Japan can no longer afford to remain content with views about history and the world that only satisfy it. Now, reconciliation over the past is more important than ever. We hope Prime Minister Naoto Kan will inherit the principle of "taking a hard and straight look at history" espoused by his predecessor.

Enacting the bill for former detainees in Siberia would be a good place to start.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 14