Japan morally bound to redress wartime victims' grievances

A long-awaited apology came from Japan, but not from the government. Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, according to reports, has offered "sincere apology" and compensation in a proposed out-of-court settlement to Chinese plaintiffs seeking redress for forced labor during World War II. Just days ago, the company had apologized in Los Angeles for using American prisoners of war as slave laborers, becoming the first Japanese company to do so.

Hopefully, Mitsubishi Materials, one of the world's leading electronic product manufacturers, has set an example for the Japanese government to do some soul-searching on Japan's war atrocities.

Mitsubishi's move is believed to be an attempt to prevent its wartime past from damaging its image overseas and hampering its global operations. But the company's apology comes too late for most of the victims, as less than one-tenth of the Chinese forced laborers are alive, and most of them are in their 80s and 90s. They and the bereaved relatives of other victims of Japanese atrocities demand swift and complete settlement for the company's war crimes.