Mitsubishi Japan apologizes for forced US labor

World Today

Construction firm Mitsubishi Materials Corporation has become the first major Japanese company to apologize for using captured American soldiers as slave labor during WWII. CCTV’s Conor Gallagher filed this report.

More details:

  • A representative for Mitsubishi Materials apologized on behalf of its predecessor, Mitsubishi Mining Corporation, which ran four sites that held nearly 900 American prisoners during WWII. 27 Americans died in the camps.
  • When meeting the press following the apology, senior executive Hikaru Kimura was asked whether the company plans to apologize to the forced laborers from China and South Korea as well and it wasn’t immediately clear if he meant yes or no.
  • Studies by Japanese scholars found during WWII, noted that nearly 42 thousand Chinese people were used as slave laborers. Nearly 3,000 died en route to Japan.