Kyodo News There is a change in the air as lawsuits filed by Asian victims of Japanese wartime conquest are receiving a more sympathetic hearing, but the government and Diet have been slow to respond.
Although 60 war damages suits have been filed in Japan, in most cases the plaintiffs have lost. However, the so-called Hanaoka incident is one of four cases that have recently reached settlements.
Major construction company Kajima Corp. agreed in November to set up a 500 million yen fund to compensate Chinese victims of a World War II labor camp in Odate, Akita Prefecture, where a major uprising took place.