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A Japanese civic group reviews a written statement on Feb. 8. demanding the Japanese government refrain from “misguiding corporations” by advising them not to pay reparations to Korean victims of forced labor. (Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent)
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Statement accuses Japanese government of misguiding corporations
On Feb. 8, members of a Japanese civic group calling for the resolution of the issue of compensation for Korean victims of forced labor delivered a written statement to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding that the Japanese government refrain from misguiding corporations by directing them not to adhere to the South Korean Supreme Court ruling that demands compensation for the victims. On the same day, the Joint (Japanese) Action for the resolution of the issue of forced conscription as well as atonement for past wrongs met with a staff member of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the House of Councillors building in Tokyo and delivered the written demand, titled, “For an early resolution to the issue of former forcibly conscripted Korean workers.” This Japanese joint action is an organization that was formed when various civic groups came together in November 2018 following a ruling from the South Korean Supreme Court. One criticism of the written demand of this joint action reads, “The Japanese government is criticizing the South Korean Supreme Court ruling as a ‘violation of international law,’ and for ‘destroying the legal basis of Japanese-South Korean relations.’ Moreover, it is advising the accused corporations to ’not obey the ruling,’ and ‘to not compensate the victims.’” The statement demands also that the Japanese government provide an explanation for the grounds on which they are arguing that the South Korean Supreme Court ruling is a violation of international law, and whether there is any legal basis for a national government to grant permission to not obey the results of a civil suit. The statement also urges the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to create a space in which the investigate possible solutions to the problem of the victims of the forced labor conscription, who are now advanced in years. An official at the department of Northeast Asian affairs at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the written demand. The official repeated the Japanese’ government’s hackneyed position that “ the issue was settled with the 1965 agreement between Japan and Korea on the rights to make claims, and therefore the ruling of the South Korean Supreme Court was a violation of international law.” Regarding the issue of the Japanese government advising Japanese corporations to disregard the ruling, the official insisted, “The government is exchanging opinions with the corporations.” Takahashi Makoto, co-leader of an organization supporting civil suits against Mitsubishi Nagoya by forcibly conscripted female workers, also delivered to the Foreign Ministry a copy of a written deposition from a recently deceased plaintiff, Kim Jung-gon, submitted to a Japanese court in 2006. In the statement are the words, “I cannot die until the wrongdoer admits to doing wrong.” By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
