FM Spokeswoman on Japan's Compensation to Chinese Forced Laborers

The use of Chinese forced laborers was one of the grave crimes committed by the Japanese militarists during the Japanese aggression against China, and the Hanaoka incident was a typical demonstration of such a crime.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue made the remarks at the press briefing November 30 in response to a question regarding Wednesday's settlement between a Japanese firm and Chinese laborers on a US$4.5 million compensation deal.

Zhang said that China has asked Japan to handle this historical issue "properly and earnestly."

China understands that the Kajima Corp., Japan's major construction firm that employed Chinese coolies during World War II, has confessed to historical facts and apologized to the survivors of the incident and relatives of the victims, said the spokeswoman.

Kajima's wartime predecessor, Kajima-gumi, operated the Hanaoka labor camp in Odate, northern Japan, where harsh working conditions led to an uprising on June 30, 1945. The uprising was later suppressed by Japanese military police and more than 130 Chinese laborers were killed.

Since June 1995, 11 survivors and relatives of the deceased have filed a lawsuit to the Tokyo District Court, demanding a fair resolution to the issue and reasonable compensation from Kajima for the Chinese survivors.

Settlement Reached on Incident

Japan's major construction firm Kajima Corp. agreed November 29 to set up a 500 million yen (US$4.5 million) fund to compensate Chinese victims of a labor camp uprising in northeastern Japan at the end of World War II.

Kajima and the Chinese group, representing survivors and relatives of the deceased, reached the settlement at the Tokyo High Court, ending a five-year court battle over the lawsuit filed by 11 Chinese plaintiffs.

Kajima's wartime predecessor, Kajima-gumi, operated the Hanaoka labor camp in Odate, Akita Prefecture, using Chinese forced laborers.

On June 30, 1945, more than 700 Chinese laborers, forcibly brought to the camp by Japanese aggressor troops in China, angered at the hard labor, staged an uprising. The uprising was later suppressed by Japanese military police and more than 130 laborers were killed in the incident, known as the "Hanaoka Incident."





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