Aso mines used POW labor
I had been under the impression that the use of POW labor at mines owned by Aso mining was a widely acknowledged truth, but a story from Norimitsu Ohnishi of the New York Times seems to argue the recent release of official documents has brought something hidden to light:
The Japanese government has acknowledged for the first time that Allied prisoners during World War II were made to work at a coal mine owned by the family of Prime Minister Taro Aso, contradicting longstanding denials by the Japanese leader.
The admission came after the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, under prodding from an opposition lawmaker, released documents showing that 300 Australian, British and Dutch prisoners of war worked at a mine owned by Aso Mining during the last four months of the war.
Some of Taro Aso’s past comments on the issued don’t directly deny that POW laborers were used in mines. Instead it would seem that Aso was stressing how he should not be held responsible for what happened during the war:
“I was only five years old when the war ended so I honestly have no personal recollection of that time,” Aso, 67, told reporters in Tokyo.
Aso, who served as president of an Aso Mining’s successor, Aso Cement, from 1973 to 1979, added: “Aso Cement was a separate company, so I have never regarded this as an issue.
“My responsibility as a politician has been to help rebuild postwar Japan and turn it into a responsible member of the international community.”
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Article 50
Besides work connected with camp administration, installation or maintenance, prisoners of war may be compelled to do only such work as is included in the following classes:
(a) Agriculture;
(b) Industries connected with the production or the extraction of raw materials, and manufacturing industries, with the exception of metallurgical, machinery and chemical industries; public works and building operations which have no military character or purpose;
(c) Transport and handling of stores which are not military in character or purpose;
(d) Commercial business, and arts and crafts;
(e) Domestic service;
(f) Public utility services having no military character or purpose.
That’s from the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Third Geneva Convention was in force during the Second World War, and Japan was a signatory party, but the provisions of this section are essentially the same.
If the ‘no military character or purpose’ clause modifies raw material extraction, it should be noted that this has been defined as ‘all work which, in the categories under consideration, normally serves to maintain civilian life, even if the military authorities incidentally benefit by it.’
Of course, this leaves aside the question of whether the prisoners were abused while in captivity, as they sometimes were.
I was gonna say, is using POW labour necessarily immoral or illegal as long as they are not mistreated, but I guess that settles it.
You DO know what a convention is, right? And how mandatory it is?
I’d hate to be held accountable for my father’s actions when I was a kid. All I knew back then was he went to work every day, all day. He could have been up to all kinds of shenanigans!
When you acquire a company, you’ll have to assume both its assets and liabilities.
Well, if he is reaping the benefits, it isn’t too far a leap in logic to claim he should assume the responsibilities.
Whether there is anything unethical about putting POWs to work is another matter entirely.
I don’t hold Aso responsible for what his father did during the war. But I do hold him responsible for denying it.
Not only was POW labor used at Aso mines, the POWs were badly abused. No doubt Aso realizes that once he admits POW labor was used, he will open a great can of worms. Good for Ohnishi.
Do you have a source for the abuse claim?
I correspond with a number of ex-POWs, British and American, all of whom substantiate the abuse claims. There are a number of excellent memoirs too, though some are better than others.
A good link to start with is the following:
http://www.us-japandialogueonpows.org/index-J.htm
Both Japanese and English texts are available. I was encouraged to visit this website by Japanese friends; if they’d never pushed me to check it out, I’d never have bothered.