- Title: JAPAN: Former Australian POW seeks apology from Japanese PM
- Date: 20th June 2009
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JUNE 19, 2009) (REUTERS) YUKIHISA FUJITA, MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF COUNCILORS; JOE COOMBS, FORMER PRISONER OF WAR; JAMES MCANULTY, SON OF A FORMER PRISONER OF WAR - PATRICK JAMES MCANULTY, TAKING SEATS AT THE NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS COVERING NEWS CONFERENCE MORE OF THE CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER PRISONER OF WAR, JOE COOMBS, SAYING: "One other request was for an apology for the harsh, inhumane treatment that was inflicted upon us by the Aso mine, and the too was denial of our human rights and forcing us to be the slave labour." PHOTOGRAPHER COVERING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SON OF A FORMER PRISONER OF WAR PATRICK JAMES MCANULTY, JAMES MCANULTY, SAYING: "As a son of an Aso POW I believe I've got the right to be heard. I witnessed everyday of my father's ill-treatment and how it affected him. As a young boy I remember the horror stories of the humiliation, and the starvation and cruelty." REPORTER LISTENING TO THE SPEAKER (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF COUNCILORS, YUKIHISA FUJITA, SAYING: "The grandfather of Mr. Aso, Mr. Yoshida, signed San Francisco Peace Treaty which required Japan to join Geneva Convention that deals with the treatment of the prisoners of war. So, it's very important for us to abide by the international commitment after the war, but Japan has not followed this issue properly." COOMBS SHOWING REPORTERS A BLACK-AND-WHITE GROUP PICTURE TAKEN DURING THE WORLD WAR II CLOSE-UP OF THE PICTURE CLOSE-UP OF COOMBS' FINGER POINTING AT HIS FACE IN THE PICTURE COOMBS IN ANOTHER BLACK-AND-WHITE PICTURE TAKEN DURING THE WORLD WAR II MCANULTY POINTING AT HIS FATHER IN A BLACK-AND-WHITE PICTURE TAKEN DURING THE WORLD WAR II CLOSE-UP OF THE FACE OF PATRICK JAMES MCANULTY MORE OF PATRICK JAMES MCANULTY
- Embargoed: 5th July 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA9C8PGP0OYL76VX5SWOZJ8BIN2
- Story Text: Former World War Two POW seeks an apology from Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, whose family owned a mine he said he was forced to work.
An Australian World War Two veteran and the son of another was in Tokyo on Friday (June 19) to seek an apology and compensation from Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso after he said he was forced to work in one of the Aso family coal mines when he was a prisoner of war.
During a news conference held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, the 88-year-old Joe Coombs, told the media he had been denied the chance to meet Aso and seek reparations over his treatment as a forced labourer.
"One other request was for an apology for the harsh, inhumane treatment that was inflicted upon us by the Aso mine and too was denial of our human rights and forcing us to be the slave labour," said Coombs.
A news release quoted Coombs as saying he worked twelve hour shifts in dangerous conditions and food rations were so scant that he weighed only about 50 kg (110 lb) when the war ended.
Coombs said he was one of about 300 POWs forced to work in the coal mines in 1945 after two years of working in Japanese shipyards.
In January, Aso acknowledged for the first time that a family company had used POWs as mine workers during the war, and that the government had been mistaken when it denied the fact when he was foreign minister.
The son of former prisoner of war Patrick McAnulty, recalled the effects of the harsh treatment on his father.
"As a son of an Aso POW I believe I've got the right to be heard. I witnessed everyday of my father's ill-treatment and how it affected him. As a young boy I remember the horror stories of the humiliation, and the starvation and cruelty," said James McAnulty.
McAnulty's father was a stoker for the British Navy when his cruiser sunk in the Java sea. He said his father was then picked up by a Japanese warship and taken to the coal mines as a slave.
Coombs said he was with the Australian Army and fought in Malaya and Singapore, before being taken prisoner when Singapore fell in 1942.
He said he has not been back to Japan since World War Two, but has been campaigning for more than 60 years for Japan to recognize its ill-treatment of prisoners of war.
In September 2007 he unsuccessfully sought a meeting with former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group's summit in Sydney.
The issue gathered new momentum when Aso became prime minister in September 2008, with opposition lawmaker Yukihisa Fujita pursuing the issue in the Japanese parliament.
"The grandfather of Mr. Aso, Mr. Yoshida, signed San Francisco Peace Treaty which required Japan to join Geneva Convention that deals with the treatment of the prisoners of war. So, it's very important for us to abide by the international commitment after the war, but Japan has not followed this issue properly," said Fujita, who invited both Coombs and McAnulty to Japan.
A grandson of a former prime minister, Aso was a child when the family firm, Aso Mining, allegedly used allied POWs and forced laborers from Korea during World War Two.
Aso has said he was too young at the time to be aware of the company's activities.
Over the years, Aso Mining faded and its successor companies, including Aso Cement, which Taro Aso ran from 1973 to 1979, have distanced themselves from the issue. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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