Japanese Mitsubishi corporation not compensating forced labourers

This 20 July 2015 video says about itself:

Mitsubishi apologises for WWII forced labour

The handshake that ends 70 years of suffering.

Mitsubishi has become the first Japanese corporation to offer an apology for the use of American prisoners of war for forced labour during the Second World War.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

Mitsubishi refuses to speak to Dutch forced laborers

Mitsubishi will not talk to Dutch people who did forced labour in the Second World War. The new owner of energy company Eneco says that the company was founded in 1954 and is therefore not responsible for what happened during the war under the name Mitsubishi.

That is total bullshit, Messrs Mitsubishi billionaires. After 1945, the Mitsubishi Group had been broken up by United States occupation authorities because of war crimes. However, because of the Korean war, the Mitsubishi Group came together again.

7300 Dutch

The board of the Japanese Honorary Debts Foundation wanted to talk to the multinational corporation, because in the Second World War many Dutch people were employed as prisoners of war in Mitsubishi factories and shipyards in Japan. The foundation asked for help from several municipalities that are shareholders of Eneco.

An estimated 7,300 Dutch people performed forced labor during the Second World War. At least 661 of them did that for mines and shipyards of the Mitsubishi group. Eleven of them are believed to be still alive. The foundation does not only want to talk to the company, but also apologies and financial compensation.

Others did get apologies and compensation

The foundation is disappointed with the news, but not surprised. “I expected this,” chairman Jan van Wagtendonk told Rijnmond local TV. The foundation was informed by letter by alderman Arjan van Gils of the municipality of Rotterdam, who is also chairman of the shareholders of Eneco.

“As a board, we are now looking into the sequel,” says Van Wagtendonk. “I am left with the question: why don’t they want to talk?”

In other cases, the Japanese group has previously apologized and compensated after government pressure or a lawsuit. That has happened to American, Korean and Chinese ex-forced laborers.