Chinese sue over wartime forced labor

Beijing -- Li Yunde (far left) and other Chinese plaintiffs talk to the press at a hotel here Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) A group of nine people filed suit Tuesday against Mitsui and Mitsubishi group companies operating in the United States, demanding compensation on behalf of all Chinese who were forced to work in Japanese factories and mines before and during World War II.

The class-action suit, filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court by five Chinese nationals and four Chinese-Americans, is seeking damages for unpaid labor performed by Chinese for the two major Japanese corporate groups between 1929 and 1945, their lawyers said.

"California is the appropriate venue for this case because the defendants and their assets are here. Also, four members of the class-action suit are California residents," said lawyer Barry Fisher. "The plaintiffs want just compensation for slave labor."