Representatives of civic groups from Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands signed an agreement Friday to cooperate in seeking compensation from the Japanese government for their sufferings during and after World War II.
The three groups are a Japanese group and a South Korean group of former detainees seeking compensation for hard labor they were forced to undergo in camps in Siberia, and the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts, a Dutch group of former prisoners of the Japanese army in the then Dutch East Indies.
"We are joined by the same pain and suffering," said Barend Cohen, vice president of the Dutch group, during a press conference following the signing. Cohen, 58, who was a toddler when he was interred in Jakarta, bit his lip and said he could not talk about his experience.