As Japan prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II,
one of its largest corporations has given a long-awaited apology for wartime
atrocities.
At a ceremony in
Los Angeles on Sunday, a representative for Mitsubishi Materials Corporation
apologized for using captured American soldiers as slave laborers.
Mitsubishi
Materials is the first private corporation to express such remorse, although
the Japanese government has made repeated apologies.
The solemn act
of contrition comes far too late for most victims. Mitsubishi says it was only
able to locate two living survivors. But former prisoner of war James Murphy
warmly accepted the apology, which comes just weeks before the August 15th
anniversary of Japan's 1945 surrender.
Forced labor added to Japan's arsenal
Murphy, a 94-year-old American, was in
his early 20s when he became a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II. He
said he was "elated" by the apology, which he had waited to hear in
the seven decades since he was freed.
Murphy says he
survived horrific conditions as a forced laborer for Mitsubishi Materials'
predecessor Mitsubishi Mining Co., which supplied materials used to
manufacture, among other things, Mitsubishi's feared Zero fighter aircraft used
by the Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945.
Mitsubishi has
admitted to holding nearly 900 American prisoners-of-war when allied forces
liberated its labor camps in 1945 during the final days of the war.
Twenty-seven Americans died in the camps and others complained
of lifelong health problems from grueling conditions, frequent beatings, poor
sanitation, and lack of food and medical care.
Mitsubishi
Materials lists among its corporate philosophies as being a company "for
people, society and the Earth."
"In keeping
with the spirit of our company's mission statement, today we apologize
remorsefully for the tragic events in our past, and expressed our profound
determination to work toward a better future," said Hikaru Kimura, a
senior executive officer of Mitsubishi Materials.
Kimura also gave
a customary deep bow of remorse to Murphy, who appeared visibly moved.
"I've
listened very carefully to Mr. Kimura's statement of apology and found it very,
very sincere, humble and revealing, and this happens to be the first time that
we've heard those words and they really touch you at the heart," Murphy
said.
12,000 Americans kept in forced labor
The high-profile and long-awaited
apology happened during a news conference at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum
of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
Public relations
director Avra Shaprio told CNN the Wiesenthal Center's associate dean, Rabbi
Abraham Cooper, is planning a late-July visit to the sites of former Japanese
mines. He claimed a wartime labor shortage prompted the Japanese government and
private companies to put 12,000 Americans into forced labor, of whom more than
1,100 died.
The American
POWs worked alongside British, Chinese, Korean and Filipino prisoners.
Mitsubishi has
not offered financial compensation for forced laborers, but the company has
faced lawsuits in South Korea and China.
The 1951 Treaty
of San Francisco, the peace treaty that officially ended World War II, did not
allow American POWs to file lawsuits seeking compensation.
"Here we
are in the 21st century. It's time for Japan to help its victims turn the page
on the past. And in order to do that, Japan must squarely face its
history," said Jeff Kingston, Director of Asian Studies at Japan's Temple
University and author of Nationalism in Asia Since 1945.
Kingston called
the experience of POWs in Japan "a horrific nightmare" and said
Mitsubishi's apology should have happened "decades ago."
"This is an
issue that hasn't gone away for Japan," he added.
Japan
expands military reach
Mitsubishi's move comes as the Japanese government attempts to
move past the nation's war crimes and expand the role of its military for the
first time since the war.
Last week, Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe pushed a controversial security bill through Japan's lower
house of Parliament, which gives the army and navy limited powers to fight
abroad under certain conditions. The bill now moves to the upper house, where
it is also expected to pass.
Thousands of
protestors stood outside the parliament building in Tokyo to protest the
legislation, deemed a "war bill" by critics fearful of a return to
the days of Imperial Japanese aggression.
Abe's approval
rating has plunged below 40%, the lowest since he was elected in 2012.
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