HistoryDiff

During the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, Japan forcibly took large numbers of Chinese people from occupied areas of China and forced them to work in mines and construction sites in Japan, as well as in facilities under the control of the Japanese military in China.

In Chinese textbooks, the forced recruitment and forced labor of Chinese people is clearly positioned as part of Japanese imperialism's acts of aggression. Between 1942 and 1945, approximately 40,000 Chinese people were forcibly brought into Japan based on a Japanese government cabinet decision. The abducted Chinese nationals were forced to work under extremely harsh conditions at 135 workplaces in 35 companies, including power companies, mining companies, and construction companies, and it is said that more than 7,000 people died due to poor food conditions, violence, and epidemics.

Within China, large numbers of Chinese workers were mobilized, mainly in the northeastern region (formerly Manchuria), and worked in military facilities and coal mines. In August 1945, just before Japan's defeat in the war, Chinese workers at the Hanaoka Mine in Akita Prefecture rose up in the Hanaoka Incident, which is described in textbooks as a historical incident that symbolizes the harshness of forced labor. The Chinese government regards forced recruitment and forced labor as serious war crimes committed by Japanese militarism, and demands that Japan face up to its history of aggression and deeply reflect. Since the 2000s, multiple lawsuits for damages against Japanese companies have been filed by former Chinese workers and their families in Japanese courts, and settlements have been reached with some companies (such as Nishimatsu Construction and Mitsubishi Materials).

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