Compensation Dispute

[Anchor Lead]

Disputes are going on over the Japanese government's instructions to Japanese companies to neither compensate nor settle with Korea victims of wartime forced labor, following a Korean court's ruling ordering Japan to pay damages to them. However, Japan has reportedly finalized a compensation deal with victims of wartime forced labor in China.

[Pkg]

In 2016, a trial was held in China against Japan's Mitsubishi Materials for forcing Chinese people into labor during World War Two. After legal disputes, the Japanese company agreed to pay some 3,700 victims 100,000 yuan or 16 million won in compensation per person.

[Soundbite] (Chinese Forced Labor Victim(News Conference in 2016)) : "The first step was taken toward resolving the issue. This is a big victory."

In the settlement, Mitsubishi said that it admitted historical responsibility with a sincere apology. At the time, NHK reported that it was the largest post-war settlement and would affect other compensation suits involving Japanese companies. In a 2007 ruling, Japan's Supreme Court denied Chinese individuals the right to demand compensation for their wartime damage, based on a Japan-China joint statement produced in 1972. However, a Chinese court delivered a different ruling and Mitsubishi decided to accept it. It stands in stark contrast to Tokyo's protest against the Korean Supreme Court's recent decision ordering Japan's Nippon Steel to pay compensation to Koreans forced into labor during World War Two. The Japanese government even instructed the companies to neither compensate nor settle with Korean victims. Japan's Kyodo News reported that Mitsubishi will set up a compensation fund for Chinese forced laborers by the end of the year.