Another plea for wartime reparations by Japan

The Supreme Court has reversed lower court rulings that Koreans conscripted in the era of Japanese colonial rule of Korea cannot sue Japanese companies for damages. Korea`s highest court made it clear that Japanese court rulings violated the core values of the Korean Constitution, which consider Japan’s compulsory mobilization illegal. This means that Japanese colonial rule was merely an illegal compulsory ruling from the perspective of the Korean Constitution and laws. Therefore, the Supreme Court claims as unconstitutional the notion that colonial rule issued a conscription order to Koreans under the perception that colonial rule was legal.

The Supreme Court’s ruling is the first legal decision that recognizes the potential for winning lawsuits filed by Koreans who were victims of colonial rule against Japanese companies. This is in line with the Korean Constitutional Court’s decision last year that the Korean government’s lack of action and negligence in handling the Korean comfort women issue was unconstitutional. The ruling is difficult to implement in Japan because the latter`s highest court confirmed the unsuccessful legal battle of conscription victims. If victims win their cases in Korea, however, Seoul can hold negotiations with Tokyo and can award compensation to the victims through mutual agreement.

The Korean Supreme Court said the bilateral agreement on compensation between Seoul and Tokyo in 1965 did not invalidate an individual’s right to sue for damages. Since Tokyo did not recognize the illegality of Japanese colonial rule and denied legal compensation for victims of conscription in the course of the negotiations, the court said the right to claim damages due to Japan’s illegal activities is not subject to the 1965 agreement. Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel rejected victims` claims by saying they were different entities under colonial rule, but the Korean Supreme Court said they were one identical company.

In 2007, Germany completed payment of 5.5 trillion won (4.65 billion U.S. dollars) to 1.67 million forced laborers in World War II. Berlin covered half the cost and the rest came from companies that profited from labor, such as Volkswagen and Bayer. This is quite a contrast to Japan, which refuses to make a heartfelt apology, not to mention compensation, after committing heinous crimes such as forced conscription of Koreans and forcing women to provide sex to Japanese soldiers. Japan can atone for its past misdeeds by appeasing victims who were forcibly conscripted for war.