Kosuke Sugawara has long played the role of father figure for the so-called war orphans — Japanese who were left behind in China at the end of the war as infants or small children.
Sugawara, 84, says in a new book titled "Chugoku Zanryu Koji" (roughly translated as "Orphans Left in China") that playing that role has meant aiding war orphans who resettled in Japan in lawsuits seeking state redress. More than 2,000 plaintiffs have filed such suits in 15 district courts nationwide.
The plaintiffs have won fresh assistance measures in return for discontinuing the lawsuits. But Sugawara, who has been supporting the war orphans for 24 years, is not satisfied with the status quo.