Chinese victims of toxic gas lose damages case in Japan
Source: Agencies |
May 25, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A TOKYO court yesterday rejected compensation claims by a group of Chinese plaintiffs over the death of a person and the sickening of 44 others after construction workers in northeast China broke open several barrels of World War II poison gas abandoned by invading Japanese troops.
The plaintiffs - 43 people severely affected and five relatives of the one who died in the 2003 accident in Qiqihar City, of Heilongjiang Province - demanded the Japanese government pay 1.43 billion yen (US$16 million) in damages.
However, Japan's government was not responsible for the accident, the court said, noting, however, residents faced imminent danger from chemical weapons left behind in the area.
The plaintiffs have complained of painful blisters, weakened vision, coughs and chronic fatigue.
The abandoned chemical weapons are part of the legacy of Japan's wartime crimes in East Asia that still complicate Japan's relations with China.
In Beijing, Kang Jian, a lawyer who fights for the rights of Chinese forced to work as slave laborers and "comfort women" for Japan before and during the war of aggression in China, said the Tokyo court had no reason to reject the request.
Kang said the Japanese government was shirking its responsibility.
Construction workers were digging up the ground when they found several barrels leaking liquid and tried to open them.
Workers and nearby residents were among the injured. The victim who died was a construction employee.
The suit, filed in Tokyo District Court in 2007, also demanded that Japan cover medical costs and income losses caused by health problems blamed on the accident.
Yesterday's ruling said the Japanese government could not be held responsible for its failure to prioritize safety inspections at the particular site, and thus need not pay compensation to the victims, said Satoshi Ibori, a Japanese lawyer representing the plaintiffs. Ibori called the ruling "extremely unfair."
The court clearly linked the death and injuries to the poison gas weapons that Japan's wartime military abandoned in the city, as well as their potential danger that Tokyo could have predicted, Ibori said.
Ibori said he planned to appeal against the ruling to a higher court.
Tokyo has agreed to pay 300 million yen in one-time compensation to the Qiqihar victims.
But the plaintiffs say that amount would not go near to covering their medical costs and income losses.
At home, Japan spent about 3 billion yen annually to provide free medical care and other social benefits to about 4,500 Japanese who worked at three chemical weapons factories in China during the war, the lawyers said.
Japan has removed 37,000 chemical weapons in China, but at least 700,000 are believed to remain.
The plaintiffs - 43 people severely affected and five relatives of the one who died in the 2003 accident in Qiqihar City, of Heilongjiang Province - demanded the Japanese government pay 1.43 billion yen (US$16 million) in damages.
However, Japan's government was not responsible for the accident, the court said, noting, however, residents faced imminent danger from chemical weapons left behind in the area.
The plaintiffs have complained of painful blisters, weakened vision, coughs and chronic fatigue.
The abandoned chemical weapons are part of the legacy of Japan's wartime crimes in East Asia that still complicate Japan's relations with China.
In Beijing, Kang Jian, a lawyer who fights for the rights of Chinese forced to work as slave laborers and "comfort women" for Japan before and during the war of aggression in China, said the Tokyo court had no reason to reject the request.
Kang said the Japanese government was shirking its responsibility.
Construction workers were digging up the ground when they found several barrels leaking liquid and tried to open them.
Workers and nearby residents were among the injured. The victim who died was a construction employee.
The suit, filed in Tokyo District Court in 2007, also demanded that Japan cover medical costs and income losses caused by health problems blamed on the accident.
Yesterday's ruling said the Japanese government could not be held responsible for its failure to prioritize safety inspections at the particular site, and thus need not pay compensation to the victims, said Satoshi Ibori, a Japanese lawyer representing the plaintiffs. Ibori called the ruling "extremely unfair."
The court clearly linked the death and injuries to the poison gas weapons that Japan's wartime military abandoned in the city, as well as their potential danger that Tokyo could have predicted, Ibori said.
Ibori said he planned to appeal against the ruling to a higher court.
Tokyo has agreed to pay 300 million yen in one-time compensation to the Qiqihar victims.
But the plaintiffs say that amount would not go near to covering their medical costs and income losses.
At home, Japan spent about 3 billion yen annually to provide free medical care and other social benefits to about 4,500 Japanese who worked at three chemical weapons factories in China during the war, the lawyers said.
Japan has removed 37,000 chemical weapons in China, but at least 700,000 are believed to remain.
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