Japan Compensates Chinese Laborer of World War IIThe local court of Tokyo ruled on July 12 that the Japanese government should compensate 20 million Japanese yen to Liu Lianren, a late Chinese laborer who was forced to work in Hokkaido of Japan during the World War II. This is the first ruling that the Japanese court ever made on compensation for wars.Liu Lianren, born in Gaomi City of east China's Shandong Province in 1912, was taken in September 1944 to Japan and forced to work as a laborer in a coal mine of Hokkaido. In July 1945 he escaped and lived a hard life as a savage in the forest of Hokkaido for 13 years due to the ignorance of the end of the War. He came back to China in 1958 and accused the Japanese government in March 1996, requiring for apology and compensation of 20 million yen but left unfinished during his life. Liu died of stomach cancer last September at age of 87. His family member continued this lawsuit after his death in accordance with his unfulfilled wish. According to the court decision, the Japanese government must pay a total of 20 million yen to inheritors of this lawsuit Zhao Yulan, Liu Huanxin and Liu Ping as compensation. By PD Online Staff Deng Gang |
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