China urges Japan to be responsible in handling forced laborer issue

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-21 02:53

BEIJING: China on Friday urged Japan to be responsible for history in handling issues concerning former Chinese nationals who were forced to work as laborers in Japan during World War II.

Japan's Sendai High Court on Friday rejected an appeal for damages filed by former Chinese laborers, saying that individual rights of Chinese nationals for war reparations were discarded under the 1972 Japan-China joint statement.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the Chinese government's declaration in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement on waiving the right for war compensations from Japan was a political decision made to help the two peoples live in amity.

Qin said China strongly opposed the "arbitrary" interpretation by the Japanese court on Chinese government's waiving its right to war reparations.

"Such an interpretation is illegal and invalid," Qin said when asked to comment on the verdict.

Qin pointed out that Japan's actions to force and enslave the Chinese during World War II were serious militaristic crimes as well as a realistic and grave human rights issue that has not yet been solved properly.

"We ask the Japanese government to take a responsible attitude toward the history and properly handle this issue," said Qin.