WWII workers suspend talks with Mitsubishi

Lawyers representing Chinese forced labor victims during World War II against two Japanese firms said on Wednesday they have suspended settlement negotiations with Mitsubishi Materials Corporation over "Mitsubishi's complete lack of sincerity."

"Although we have yet to hear from the court, we learned that a trial will likely take place in March," Kang Jian, an attorney representing the laborers, told the Global Times.

Lawyers of 40 Chinese forced laborers and their families filed a class-action lawsuit against Mitsubishi Materials Corporation and Nippon Coke and Engineering Company at the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court on February 26, 2014.

"During several rounds of negotiations, Mitsubishi has repeatedly attempted to use vague terms to cover up crimes it committed in World War II and to avoid liability … We have appealed to the company but our requests have been constantly ignored," Li Haiyan, another lawyer of the laborers, said Wednesday at a press conference in Beijing.

In the meantime, Mitsubishi has been secretly approaching Chinese laborers and their families, offering cash in exchange for dropping the lawsuit, the lawyers said.

Mitsubishi has allegedly offered to pay 100,000 yuan ($16,011) to each laborer and agreed to erect a monument in honor of the victims.

Although the company said it "acknowledged abusing the Chinese laborers' rights," it has failed to admit to any of its legal liabilities or the fact that the company had profited from slave labor, the lawyers added.

"The documents [Mitsubishi provided] failed to mention the word 'compensation' and Mitsubishi denied turning the laborers into slaves. Instead, it only offered to put money into a fund for the laborers and their families from the perspective of friendship between the two countries," Li said.

Zhang Jian, the son of one of the surviving laborers, said the Japanese firm's behavior completely lacks sincerity and that accepting the offer would dishonor fellow Chinese citizens.