Forgotten voices: 60 years on, Japan's hidden victims win compensation

Forgotten voices: 60 years on, Japan's hidden victims win compensation

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When you think about China and Japan, and the former's battle for compensation from the latter, even a casual observer can probably name at least half dozen issues of controversy, including 'comfort women', the butchery of the occupation of Nanjing, the use of chemical and biological weapons on Chinese civilians, where claims for compensation have been made. However, while these WWII related compensation suits have been taking center stage, and claiming Asia's headlines for their own, there has been another battle for compensation being waged, one which has been unfairly eclipsed by its more evocative siblings, and which has largely been ignored by both the Chinese press and the international media.

Fortunately for those involved, this lesser known battle may now finally be over.

In a landmark ruling, made late last month (25 October), Judge Kanno Hiroyuki of the Toyko district court announced that Chinese who were forcefully interned in the Lo Sheng Leprosy hospital, during the Japanese occupation of Chinese-Taiwan, are entitled to the same level of compensation as Japanese Leprosy sufferers who were themselves interned under brutal Japanese Leprosy containment laws which ran from 1907-1996.

A Victory for Taiwan, a Victory for Justice

In his ruling, Judge Kanno stated that, because Taiwan's internment facilities were run as a subdivision of the Japanese state, those interned there should be eligible for the same compensation as Japanese internees.

"The [Lo Sheng] leprosarium in Taiwan qualifies as a state-run institution authorized by the [Japanese] Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, which falls subject to the legislation that compensates quarantined leprosy patients." Judge Kanno Hiroyuki, Japan

Judge Kanno additionally made it clear that he could see no viable reason why a 2001 commitment by Tokyo, to compensating victims Leprosy laws, should only apply to those who were located inside Japan at the time, and not apply to everybody who was subjected to them.

"It is difficult to interpret the law as limiting compensation to certain areas in view of the law's nature, Judge Kanno Hiroyuki, Japan

News of Kanno's ruling was greeted with relief from former Taiwanese internees.

"I am happy that we won, but I am very sad when I think of the past." Huang Jinliang, Former Taiwanese Leprosy internee

Internment

Much of the contention revolves around controversial legislation, brought in by the Japanese government in 1907, which mandated that sufferers of Leprosy should be interned in specialist facilities away from society, and that they should be prevented from marrying non lepers and from bearing children. Legislation which was applied both to Japan's home territories, and to its overseas colonies.

Under this legislation, Japan constructed the Lo Sheng hospital in Xinzhuang, Taipei County, Chinese-Taiwan (formerly Formosa) in 1930. Where authorities forcibly interned Taiwanese Leprosy sufferers to isolate them from the wider community.

Historically, Japanese courts had refused to compensate Taiwanese internees on the grounds that they had been subjected to identical rules as Japanese internees, who were similarly denied compensation. The situation changed in 2001 May 2001 when, in a landmark ruling, the Kumamoto District Court determined that Japanese internees had been unjustly treated, and were due compensation.

Soon after the Kumamoto ruling was made, Taiwanese internees argued that, because they had been subjected to internment under the same laws as Japanese Leprosy sufferers, they should be entitled to the same compensation as Japanese Leprosy sufferers. A view that was echoed by Japanese experts who were assigned to address the issue.

“The plaintiffs are victims of Japan's wrong quarantine policy and should be treated the same as former leprosy patients in Japan." Professor Hirofumi Uchida, Graduate School of Law, Kyushu University, Japan

Further Battles

Though the battle to win compensation from Tokyo appears to be over for Taiwanese internees, there remains one further battle to be fought, that to win compensation from the Taiwanese government.

Despite Chinese-Taiwan's liberation from Japan in 1945, the island optioned to continue to follow Japan's lead; isolating leprosy sufferers in internment facilities until 1962 when Taiwan's laws were amended.

As such, those who suffered internment from 1945- 1962, after Chinese-Taiwan's liberation from Japan, are not eligible for compensation from Tokyo.

According to Wu Xuzhou, the head of the legal team representing Taiwanese internees, Interned Leprosy sufferers now intent to press the the island's de-facto government to put in place a compensation structure, as now exists in Japan, to compensate those who suffered internment in the post war period.

"Thanks to Japanese lawyers, we've been inspired to become more aware of patients' human right issues." Wu Xuzhou, Head legal representative for former Taiwanese Leprosy Interneees

Cash Questions

Since the initial compensation ruling, in favor of those who suffered internment, Tokyo has paid out over a total of over 42 Billion yen to approximetly 3500 Japanese victims, with each victim receiving up to 14 million Yen ($US119,000) each.

The amounts paid out to Taiwanese internees by Tokyo is expected to be based on the same criteria used to award compensation to Japanese nationals and, thought no concrete figures are yet available, each Taiwanese victim is expected to be able to claim between between 8 and 14 Million Yen ($US68,000 - $119,000) in compensation, with the exact amount depending on the specifics of their cases.

The Anti-Compensation Culture

While an increasing number of countries either have , or are developing, a US like compensation culture, prevailing attitudes about compensation and culpability in Japan still make it notoriously difficult to win any kind of compensation, particularly from the state, even if the facts of a case are not in dispute.

To complicate things further, problems in gaining compensation in Japan are often magnified exponentially if those seeking compensation are, as was the case with Taiwanese internees, not resident in Japan.

"There is often a view in Japan not to pay compensation to people who live outside Japan, as well as different ways to interpret the laws" Hiroshi Itakura, Professor of Law, Nihon University

Though some progress has been made in recent years, there remains a strong bias in the Japanese system against awarding compensation for claims made by those living overseas. A problem that not only impinges upon foreigners, but also Japanese nationals who live overseas.

Leprosy?

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a disfiguring condition caused by infection by the Mycobacterium leprae (Actinobacteria phylus: Actinomycetale) of the Actinomycetale order of bacteria. It effects the skin and nerves causing a loss of function and sensation and making them liable to infection and brining about secondary complications, including blood poisoning and gangrene.

Despite being widely feared, Leprosy is not highly contagious, and its victims cease to become infectious soon after treatment has begun. Its effects however can be long term as tissue destroyed by Leprosy does not readily regenerate; often leaving victims who did not receive treatment early enough with permanently disfigurements.

Though Leprosy became treatable in the 1940s with the increased use of antibiotics, it is estimated that there between 1 and 2 million sufferers alive today who have been significantly disabled or disfigured by leprosy because they either did not receive treatment, or did not receive it soon enough.

In 2002, the WHO recorded 763,917 new cases of leprosy. Most in the developing world.

posted Tuesday, 8 November 2005
tags: junichiro koizumi human rights justice trial compensation japan lawsuit taiwan china