Judicial Proceedings:
POWs and Forced Labor
The issue of former Prisoners of War (POWs) and forced laborers is not restricted to any one region or country. Former POWs and forced laborers of the Japanese army and private Japanese firms come from virtually every country in the Asian-Pacific region. This makes the issue more visible than other unresolved issues.
POWs and forced labor are not the same thing. Being a prisoner of war (POW) means being captured by an enemy state and interned at a prison or camp. Being a forced laborer means being captured by an enemy state and forced into compulsory work for either the enemy state or an agent of that state. The two are not synonymous, though throughout WWII there were many instances of the two occurring together.
Former POWs and forced laborers argue that while the San Francisco Peace Treaty settled claims between states, it did not cover private compensation claims by individuals injured, imprisoned, or forced into labor by private Japanese firms that profited from such labor. Moreover, they claim that while the U.S. government helped facilitate apologies and compensation for victims of WWII slave labor in Europe, they have worked with Japanese companies to oppose similar efforts for Pacific theater POWs and veterans.
Opposing these claims, the targeted-Japanese firms, the U.S. State Department, and the Japanese government argue that the 1951 Peace Treaty included settlement provisions that covered all claims, including private ones. Moreover, courts in both countries have dismissed most compensation claims based on either the expiration of the statute of limitations or arguing that the 1951 Treaty settled all claims. In response to this, the California legislature passed a law in 1999 to extend the statute of limitations on these claims until 2010. As a result, until the law was found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003, most U.S. claims were filed in California, and many foreign nationals went to the state to file similar claims.
The issue is far from resolved. Some notable settlements outside of court have been made, but most continue in appeal. Because of the difficulties encountered in courts, many countries’ legislatures have proposed bills to compensate their veterans.
Below are presented brief summaries to some of the more prominent cases concerning POWs and forced labor in both the U.S. and Japan. Where available, court documents are provided. Otherwise, newspaper reports and scholarly works are relied on to gather the facts presented. As with all aspects of this website, any updated information or corrections concerning the data listed are welcome.
