Lawsuits Over Wartime Forced Labor Fuel China-Japan Conflict

FUKUOKA, Japan--One year after massive street protests over Japanese history textbooks revealed the depth of anti-Japanese feelings among the Chinese public, the legacy of Chinese forced labor in Japan during World War II continues to poison Beijing-Tokyo ties.

The latest impasse is highlighting the mismatch between Japan's approach to coming to terms with its wartime past and aspirations for a bigger role on the world stage -- and could threaten the ability of Japanese firms to do business in China. Although the standard Japanese response is to rebuff historical grievances, government and industry leaders are facing greater pressure to settle an oncoming tsunami of individual compensation claims.

Class-action lawsuits against Japanese corporations will soon be filed by former forced laborers in Chinese courts, marking the first-ever litigation in China stemming from Japan's war conduct. The Beijing government is raising the ante by permitting the lawsuits because the 14 forced-labor cases filed in Japanese courts over the past decade have failed to produce the desired apologies and monetary damages.

China's new resolve in pressing the issue follows two major defeats in Japanese courtrooms in March. District courts in Fukuoka and Nagano rejected redress claims against the Japanese state and six corporations on the grounds that the statute of limitations expired years ago.

More