Asia Relations: Japan Vs (Korea,China, Burma, Phill..)

JarJar blinks

But the Tokyo District Court says compensation to Chinese victims is out of the question.

A Japanese court Tuesday acknowledged for the first time that the notorious Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army conducted germ warfare on Chinese civilians during World War II. But the same court rejected compensation claims by 180 victims of the biological experiments.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that Unit 731 violated international law during the war but said Japan's responsibility for its wartime actions had been settled with the 1978 signing of the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty.

The 180 plaintiffs were either bereaved family members of individuals believed to have been killed by the germ warfare in China between 1940 and 1942 or residents who suffered in the biological attacks.

The plaintiffs, from the provinces of Hunan and Zhejiang, were each seeking 10 million yen in compensation from the Japanese government. They plan to appeal the decision.

The court verdict acknowledged that the suffering of the plaintiffs and their relatives was ``sufficiently understandable and convincing.''
http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002082800287.html
The plaintiffs had called two former members of Unit 731 to testify about their wartime duties. One member admitted to cultivating germs, while the other said he piloted a plane that dispersed plague bacillus.

In addition, nine scholars from Japan and China provided testimony for the plaintiffs.



Yoshiaki Yoshimi, a professor of modern history at Chuo University, said the work diaries of Unit 731 officers clearly showed that the Japanese Imperial Army had conducted germ warfare even though it was banned by international law. The diaries also indicated that residents died after being infected by fleas carrying the plague bacillus.

The plaintiffs also claimed in court they suffered psychological duress because the Japanese government has continued to deny the existence of the germ warfare experiments throughout the postwar period.

Lawyers for the Japanese government did not dispute the activities of Unit 731. But they argued that under the Imperial Constitution the nation could not be held responsible for any damages caused by the exercise of state power prior to the end of World War II.

Four Hong Kong groups protested Wednesday against a Japanese court's verdict that rejected demands from 180 Chinese plaintiffs for government compensation for Japan's wartime germ warfare atrocities.

"Evidence of Unit 731 crimes is irrefutable. Japan can't deny the facts," chanted the 12 representatives for the groups as they marched to the Consulate General of Japan here. "Japan should apologize and compensate to the victims," they shouted.


The government also urged the court to reject the compensation suit because the 20-year period for filing claims had already passed.

Throughout the trial, government officials failed to address whether the Japanese Imperial Army had been involved in germ warfare.

Prior to World War II, The Hague and Geneva conventions were drawn up and banned germ warfare as inhumane. But documents discovered in the 1990s showed that Unit 731 had secretly conducted germ-warfare experiments in China.

Japan's relations with its neighbours are still heavily influenced by the legacy of Japanese actions before and during World War II. Japan has found it difficult to accept and atone for its treatment of the citizens of countries it occupied.

A Japanese court caused outrage by overturning a compensation order for American and Commonwealth POWs forced to work as slaves and Korean women forced to work as sex slaves. South Korea and China have also protested that Japanese school history books gloss over atrocities committed by the Japanese military


Although the Japanese government has admitted to the existence of Unit 731, officials have repeatedly stated that no documents exist that verify the unit's activities

TetsuoHashimoto

Communinst Lies

bonkey

Care to explain a few things here?

1) Who is this supposed to be from? No source attributed?

2) Who is supposed to have posted it, cause I'm seeing a 2-minute gap between poster and first reply, and funnily enough they come from exactly the same IP address. Are JarJar and Tetsuo the same person I wonder?

3) "Communist lies" is not adding commentary.

4) If you believe it is communist lies, and your followup *is* indeed commentary, then maybe youd care to explain what you mean? Japan isnt a communist country.

5) Also, if you believe its nothing but lies, then what the hell are you posting it here for? You think its a lie. So what. You havent offered the truth, which doesnt really leave much to discuss.

I'm looking for a reason not to lock or delete this thread . So far I'm failing.

jc

JacquesPompidou

There was something about it on the BCC web site

Dustaz

Bonkey, these guys just post up cut and pastes of stuff for no apparent reason. Im suprised they managed to get the correct forum.

Hell, Jacques even managed more than one word in his response.

JacquesPompidou

Dustaz

Quote:
"Hell, Jacques even ...."

What's with the "HELL", are you some sort of f*cking Yank?

bonkey

I was right...there is no point in keeping this thread open.

I also notice that Jacques has the same IP as Tetsuo and JarJar.

Jacques - I understand gandalf has already sent you a warning. I'm assuming your other alter ego's (on the assumption that they are all you) will be smart enough to realise that this applies to them as well. If they're not you...let me make it explicit......

Tetsuo and JarJar - go an re-read the forum guidelines. Follow them.


jc