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Civic groups gather in Tokyo on Nov. 11 to take action on the issue of forced mobilization and labor by Japanese companies in the past. (Cho Ki-weon)
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Organization formed in Tokyo aims to utilize opportunity of S. Korean Supreme Court ruling
South Korean and Japanese civic groups are taking joint action to resolve the issue of compensation for forced labor conscription following a recent South Korean Supreme Court ruling. An establishment ceremony for the organization “Collective Action to Address the Forced Mobilization Issue and Resolve the Past” was held in Tokyo on Nov. 11 by Japanese civic groups. Around 20 groups took part in the ceremony, including groups supporting legal action against Mitsubishi for forced labor in Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and Nagyoa; the Association to Support Former Conscripted Workers in Trials against Nippon Steel; the Network to Determine the Truth of Forced Mobilization; the Peace, Human Rights, and Environment Forum; the Zainichi Korean group Zainichi Union for Korea’s Democratic Unification; and Association for the Linkage of Japan and the Museum of Japanese Colonial History in Korea. Participants included around 80 members living in different regions of Japan. South Korean and Japanese civic groups see the recent ruling as a “last chance” to truly resolve the issue. According to the groups, while South Korea received US$500 million in economic cooperation fund grants and loans from Japan with the two sides’ 1965 agreement, compensation of the individual victims has remained a neglected matter. On Nov. 8, sixteen South Korean groups – including the Center for Historical Truth and Justice, MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions – came together to form their own organization titled Collective Action to Address the Forced Mobilization Issue and Resolve the Past with Japan. The Japanese groups plan to collaborate with the organization. The Japanese civic groups described the South Korean Supreme Court has having issued a “historic ruling” with the acceptance of the victims’ appeal and demand that the Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation pay compensation. “An opportunity has come to restore the rights of forced mobilization victims that have been deferred since 1965. Now is the time to pursue a comprehensive resolution,” they said. During the ceremony, Kim Min-cheol, who heads the steering committee for the South Korean Collective Action organization, described the Supreme Court ruling as “the first decision by the South Korean judiciary to uphold restitution of the rights of victims.” “It is also meaningful as a declaration of the bankruptcy of the ‘1965 system,’” he added. “We want to harness the wisdom of South Korean and Japanese citizens on how to resolve the issue,” Kim said. Hideki Yano, secretary-general of the National Network for Forced Labor and Trials to Hold Companies Responsible, urged Nippon Steel to “first comply with the court’s decision.” “We need to work to restore human rights in East Asia,“ Yano said. Yano also pledged to work to share the issue with the International Labour Organization (ILO). “We need to urge compensation to all victims [including South Korea], emphasizing that how Japanese companies have a history of creating funds to compensate Chinese victims,” he said. By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
