[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          JAPAN'S REFUSAL TO MEET REICHSBANKNOTES OBLIGATIONS

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, earlier this year, Mr. Ye-Shin Lin, an 
American citizen and the U.S. representative for the Taiwanese 
Reichsbanknotes Creditors Association, gave me a compelling account of 
the Japanese Government's continued refusal to redeem notes that Japan 
issued to residents of Taiwan in 1924, during the period of Japanese 
rule.
  I wrote to the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Takakazu 
Kuriyama, on June 3 about this matter; I inquired as to how the 
Japanese Government intended to meet its financial obligations to these 
people--some of whom are American citizens.
  Knowing the Japanese--especially Japanese diplomats--to be very 
mannerly and respectful, I am surprised that, to date, I have received 
no reply to my letter. I do hope that this is just an oversight.
  However, Mr. President, based on these circumstances, I am inclined 
to assume that the Japanese Government is unwilling to acknowledge the 
existence of this outstanding Reichsbanknotes issue. This is puzzling 
because the Japanese Government had previously acknowledged its 
obligation to redeem these Reichsbanknotes; this was in August 1965, 
when the Japanese retired similar notes held by citizens of South 
Korea.
  It has been my experience that the Japanese people consider the 
fulfillment of their commitments a matter of honor. That is why I 
cannot understand Tokyo's indifference toward this 60-year old unmet 
obligation. I raise this issue today in the hope that the Japanese 
Government will recognize its responsibilities and resolve the unpaid 
Reichsbanknotes issue expeditiously.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of my letter to 
Ambassador Kuriyama be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my 
remarks.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

         U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations,
                                     Washington, DC, June 3, 1994.
     His Excellency Takakazu Kuriyama,
     Embassy of Japan, Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Ambassador: There is an issue of great 
     significance to many people in both the United States and 
     Taiwan relating to a matter of unmet obligations for 
     reparations by the Japanese government. I am confident that 
     this is an oversight by your government because it is my 
     experience that the Japanese people, hence their government, 
     regard commitments to be a matter of honor.
       Let me identify a specific case: Mr. Ye-Shin Lin, an 
     American citizen and the U.S. representative for the 
     Taiwanese Reichsbanknote Creditors Association, has provided 
     me with a compelling account of the government of Japan's 
     continued refusal to redeem notes issued by Japan to 
     residents of Korea and Taiwan in 1924 during the period of 
     Japanese rule. I am astonished that the government of Japan 
     is not making every effort to meet its legal responsibility 
     to repay these people.
       Mr. Lin has provided me with many examples in which 
     Taiwanese citizens were forced to accept Reichsbanknotes as 
     payment. In numerous instances, Japanese colonial police and 
     military police in Taiwan were mobliized to force the 
     Taiwanese to sell their farm lands and other properties to 
     raise cash to buy the Reichsbanknotes in question.
       Further, Mr. Lin states that Japanese Government 
     enterprises--including the Taiwan Sugar Company and the 
     Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau--paid a portion of 
     employee salaries to their employers by the transfer of 
     Reichsbanknotes.
       In each instance, the Japanese government promised to 
     retire these Reichbanknotes within ten years--a promise that 
     was ultimately kept to the South Korean note leaders in 1965 
     but which has yet to be consummated to the Taiwanese holders.
       My admiration for the people of Taiwan is no secret. 
     Therefore, I wish to inquire of you any information that the 
     government of Japan might provide regarding this 60-year-old 
     dispute and how your government intends to meet its 
     obligations to these people. This information will be helpful 
     in determining whether a hearing before the Senate Foreign 
     Relations Committee will be necessary and appropriate.
           Sincerely,
     Jesse Helms.

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