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Japan should pay its prewar debts to Chinese citizens and companies
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A SHANGHAI court has released a Japanese vessel seized because of a pre-war commercial debt, saying that the owner “fully fulfilled its obligations.” The Shanghai Maritime Court on April 24 released the 320-meter-long Baosteel Emotion ore carrier owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines after the shipping giant paid US$28 million in leasing fees and US$384,600 in legal fees.
The case dates back to 1964. A Shanghai court had ruled earlier in 2007 in favor of the Chinese plaintiff suing to collect unpaid debt. The maritime court ordered impoundment of the vessel on April 19 to enforce the old ruling. The vessel was docked at the port of Maji Island, south of Shanghai.
The Chinese plaintiffs are grandsons of the founder of the Chung Wei Steamship Co that leased two vessels for one year before the war to Daido Kaiun. Mitsui is the legal successor of the firm.
In 1937 the ships were commandeered by the Japanese navy, which did not pay leasing fees to Chung Wei. Both ships were lost during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), one in 1938, the other in 1944.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said seizure of the Japanese ship was due to delayed rent and losses owed to a Chinese firm.
The Japanese firm immediately fulfilled its obligation after the seizure of its vessel. This was an ideal resolution of the commercial dispute lasting around 50 years.
However, there are still many Chinese individuals and businesses whose wartime losses have not been covered.
Despite the many years that have gone by, we should not turn a blind eye to what had happened. The aggrieved party has legal right to seek fair compensation from their Japanese counterparts for the losses they suffered during the Japanese occupation.
China and Japan have normalized bilateral relations due to the efforts by state leaders from both sides.
Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said relations with Japan should be forward-looking.
Thus, the two countries should get together for appropriate resolution of cases from their history. Facing the past to close the rift is the only way to move forward.
In addition to the latest compensation case involving Mitsui, a Beijing court in February accepted the first class-action lawsuit on behalf of Chinese citizens seeking compensation from Mitsubishi Materials and Mitsui Mining and Smelting for forced labor during World War II. The 37 Chinese petitioners alleged they or their relatives were forcibly taken to Japan and made to work for the firms’ predecessor companies.
Resolving these lawsuits could represent an opportunity to improve strained bilateral ties.
It is reassuring that the Japanese government didn’t intervene in the legal process involving the Baosteel Emotion seizure, though after the court ruling it called the seizure “extremely regrettable.”
And Qin Gang called the seizure simply “enforcement measures” in a commercial contract dispute.
The rational reactions from both sides are appreciated.
When Deng Xiaoping visited Japan in 1978, he said that in the 2,500-year history of relations between China and Japan, there was only a period of 50 years when relations were bad, and he vowed to revive the long-standing good relations.
To build up a harmonious relationship between the two countries in the 21st century, we should face up to history.
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