Columbia University Graduate School of Arts & Science Human Rights Studies Master of Arts Program The Unsolved Legacy of Forced Labour during World War II in Asia Juana Wai Sum Lee Thesis Adviser: Elazar Barkan Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts January 2020 To the brave survivors of World War II that continue to fight for historical justice, accountability, peace and reconciliation 1 Acknowledgement This thesis would not be possible without the assistance and encouragement of dedicated social justice activists, human rights advocates and institutions that supported my field and desk research. Firstly, I would like to thank my thesis advisor and principal investigator Professor Elazar Barkan, who helped hone and refine my research findings. Professor Barkan believed that the issue of World War II forced labour was contemporary, relevant and important, and with his expertise, he aided in factchecking and editing the study. Professor Barkan also helped structure my findings to create a comprehensive thesis paper that highlighted the voices of those that continue to be affected by WWII forced labour in Asia. Furthermore, the willing participation of WWII forced labour survivors, bereaved family members, academics, attorneys and civil society members in Beijing, Seoul and Busan made this study possible. Thank you for taking hours to speak with me on the current WWII forced labour situation in China and South Korea and providing important, crucial and personal information to support this project. To ALPHA Education and Vice Chair Flora Chong, thank you for your constant support and dedication towards WWII peace and reconciliation. Thank you for trusting me with your connections and network and allowing me to interview those who value the work of ALPHA Education. In addition to connecting me with these crucial networks, thank you for supporting my study by providing constant encouragement and reassurance. To ALPHA Education Program Director Judy Cho and Frances Gao, thank you for your impressive and detailed interpretation and translation skills from Mandarin and Hangul to English. Both of you played an extremely important role in making the interviewees feel comfortable, allowing for a more personable and interconnected conversation on this particular topic. Next, I want to thank the institutions that supported this study. Firstly, thank you to Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) for honing my qualitative research skills and supporting this study with a thesis research stipend. I would like to thank the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University and the Sylff Association for providing me with a fellowship grant to conduct research in Beijing. Lastly, I would like to thank the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4) at Columbia University’s Earth Institute for awarding me with a graduate fellowship to conduct research for this study. 2 Abstract Five decades after the end of WWII, a wave of WWII reparations lawsuits swept across Asia, targeting the Japanese government and over one hundred Japanese companies that toiled brutal forced labour during the war. For years, plaintiffs and their legal representatives travelled across Korea, Japan, China and the United States to fight for redress in court. But with more survivors passing away during court proceedings, historical justice became exceedingly urgent. In 2014, the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court agreed to hear lawsuits by Chinese forced labourers, with dozens of pending cases awaiting trial. And on October 30, 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel Corporation to pay four Korean forced labourers ₩100 million won (USD$84,000), escalating tensions and hostilities between victim countries and Japan. But despite progress towards redress in courts, the author finds that while retributive justice is necessary to advance the WWII forced labour redress movement, it is not sufficient to obtain acceptable reparations in the case of Japan. Notwithstanding court decisions ruling in favour of the plaintiffs in South Korea and Japan, the Shinzō Abe administration and the longstanding historical resentment between Japan and victim countries have created a strong barrier impeding postwar redress and accountability. In light of these rapid developments, this article highlights the voices of fourteen individuals, including one Korean forced labour survivor, bereaved family members, their legal representatives and academics. The lessons learned, recommendations and reforms within Japan’s economic, social and political sphere are applicable to furthering historical justice and accountability and move towards memorializing this chapter of history. 3 Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 6 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND CONTEXT ........................................................................................................... 6 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS .................................................................................................... 7 KEY TERMS AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS ........................................................................................... 8 ROADMAP .................................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT ........................................................ 11 RESENTMENT SINCE 1593: JAPANESE IMPERIALISM IN KOREA .................................................................. 11 SINO-JAPANESE WAR: CHINESE FORCED LABOUR ..................................................................................... 15 THE AFTERMATH OF WWII: CHINESE CIVIL WAR (1946-1949), THE COLD WAR (1947-1991) AND THE KOREAN WAR (1950-1953) ....................................................................................................................... 18 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 20 DENIAL POLITICS AND CENSORSHIP IN POST-WWII JAPAN ...................................................................... 20 THE RISE OF INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY NORMS AND THE LEGACY OF TOKYO AND NUREMBERG ............................................................................................................................................. 21 MORAL OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENTS VERSUS LEGAL ACCOUNTABILITY .............................................. 23 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. 24 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................ 25 RESEARCH APPROACH AND DESIGN .......................................................................................................... 25 BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................ 25 RECRUITMENT OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................ 25 DATA COLLECTION METHODS................................................................................................................... 25 DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................................ 26 CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS .............................................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER 5: THE ORIGINS OF WORLD WAR II FORCED LABOUR COMPENSATION LAWSUITS ................................................................................................................................................ 27 POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC BARRIERS TO JUSTICE .................................................................................... 27 DIFFERING POLITICAL AGENDAS AND CHANGING JUDICIAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS VICTIMS .................. 28 CIVIL SOCIETY .......................................................................................................................................... 29 JAPANESE AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL SUPPORT ..................................................................................... 31 COLLECTIVE MEMORIALIZATION AND RESEARCH ..................................................................................... 32 BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS AND SOFT LAW MECHANISMS ................................................... 34 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. 36 CHAPTER 6: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE ............................................. 27 BREAKING DOWN LEGAL BARRIERS ......................................................................................................... 37 COURT PROCESSES FOR CHINESE FORCED LABOURERS ............................................................................ 38 DIVERGING HISTORICAL NARRATIVES ....................................................................................................
Details
-
File Typepdf
-
Upload Time-
-
Content LanguagesEnglish
-
Upload UserAnonymous/Not logged-in
-
File Pages96 Page
-
File Size-