Two groups of British former prisoners of war imprisoned in Japanese camps during World War II have changed their minds and will continue to press for compensation from Tokyo, their lawyer said Wednesday.
Martyn Day, solicitor for the Japanese Labor Camps Survivors Association and the Association of British Civilian Internees Far East Region, announced the move a week after the veterans said they would drop their claim in Japan following a decision by the British government to offer the former POWs, surviving widows and civilian internees 10,000 pounds each in compensation.
Day said the veterans have decided to continue their lawsuit in Japan for nonfinancial reasons. They "are still very keen to receive a decision in principle on the case," he said.
Day said the former POWs also want to pursue the lawsuit because they are not sure whether former POWs and civilians would get compensation from the British government. "There may be some gaps," he said.
The Tokyo High Court has scheduled a final hearing on the compensation case on Dec. 18, and the court is expected to announce a verdict next spring.
The veterans say they will also continue with their fight to get a meaningful apology from the Japanese government for the suffering and torture they endured after they were captured.
Last week, the British Defense Ministry said that it would make special payments of 10,000 pounds each to the survivors of the camps and estimated that there would be as many as 16,700 people eligible for the compensation.
According to the government, there were 50,016 British servicemen and civilians taken prisoner by Japan, and 12,433 of them died or were killed in captivity.