Two groups of Chinese who were used as forced labor during the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45) suffered another setback in their demand for compensation when a court refused to allow a Chinese lawyer to assist them during their hearings.

One group of forty-two Chinese who were forced to labor in Tokyo and another group of twelve forced to work in Niigata during the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45) have been denied the assistance of a Chinese lawyer during hearings of their ongoing claims for compensation.

According to Japan's civil procedure law, parties can be assisted when they suffer from physical or mental challenges such as poor hearing, old age or the need for professional knowledge to enable litigation to go forward.

Ma Ji, a spokesperson for the Chinese League of Forced Chinese Laborers in Japan, said the court's aim was, "To weaken the laborers' strength and push them to failure in the lawsuits."

According to a statement, the survivors are all very old now and many have physical disabilities. They say they can only smoothly communicate with Japanese lawyers and thoroughly express their ideas with the help of a Chinese lawyer.

Most of them are not well educated and say they need assistance to provide them with Chinese as well as Japanese legal help. The court denied their request for assistance from lawyer Kang Jian during two hearings; on September 30 for the Tokyo case and on October 20 for the Niigata plaintiffs.

Kang, who has acted as litigation assistant for Chinese in nine trials, said she is indignant over the matter. "This is an obvious injustice and abuse of power. The Tokyo Higher Court's support for the Japanese Government's groundless proposal shows that they disregard the rights of Chinese laborers," she said.

About 40,000 Chinese laborers were forced to work in Japan during the war, doing hard physical labor in coalmines, factories, railways and other sites.

They began initiating lawsuits in 1995 and some Japanese courts have acknowledged the fact that Chinese plaintiffs were forced to become slave laborers, but most of the claims have been turned down because the statute of limitations for seeking redress under the civil code is 20 years.

The Niigata laborers are defending a previous win that is being appealed against by the Japanese government and several firms, including Mitsubishi, who will be liable to pay compensation to them if the original verdict is upheld.

(China Daily November 10, 2004)