[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 141 (Tuesday, October 31, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11432-S11433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ACTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 
   GOVERNMENT REGARDING CLAIMS OF FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 
                       AGAINST JAPANESE COMPANIES

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 158 submitted by 
Senator Hatch.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will state the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 158) expressing the 
     sense of Congress regarding appropriate actions of the U.S. 
     Government to facilitate the settlement of claims of former 
     members of the Armed Forces against Japanese companies that 
     profited from the slave labor that those personnel were 
     forced to perform for those companies as POWs of Japan during 
     World War II.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. HATCH. I rise today with my cosponsors, Senators Feinstein and 
Bingaman, in support of a sense of the Senate resolution to encourage 
the U.S. Government, through the State Department or other appropriate 
offices, to use its best efforts to open a dialog between former 
American POW's forced into slave labor in Japan and the private 
Japanese companies that profited from their labor. This is a very 
important issue to our veterans and I think they deserve our help.
  On April 9, 1942, Allied forces in the Philippines surrendered Bataan 
to the Japanese. Ten to twelve thousand American soldiers were forced 
to march some 60 miles in broiling heat in a deadly trek known as the 
Bataan Death March. Following a lengthy internment under horrific 
conditions, thousands of POW's were shipped to Japan in the holds of 
freighters known as ``Hell Ships.'' Once in Japan, many of these POW's 
were forced into slave labor for private Japanese steel mills and other 
private companies until the end of the war.
  Fifty years have passed since the atrocities occurred, yet our 
veterans are still waiting for accountability and justice. 
Unfortunately, global political and security needs of the time often 
overshadowed their legitimate claims for justice--and these former 
POW's were once again asked to sacrifice for their country. Following 
the end of the war, for example, our government allegedly instructed 
many of the POW's held by Japan not to discuss their experiences and 
treatment. Some were even asked to sign nondisclosure agreements. 
Consequently, many Americans remain unaware of the atrocities that took 
place and the suffering our POW's endured.
  Following the passage of a California statute extending the statute 
of limitations for World War II claims until 2010 and the recent 
litigation involving victims of Holocaust, a new effort is underway by 
the former POW's in Japan to seek compensation from the private 
companies which profited from their labor. Let me say at the outset, 
that this is not a dispute with the Japanese people and these are not 
claims against the Japanese Government. Rather, these are private 
claims against the private Japanese companies that profited from the 
slave labor of our American soldiers who they held as prisoners. These 
are the same types of claims raised by survivors of the Holocaust 
against the private German corporations who forced them into labor.
  The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the claims being 
made by the former American POW's against the private Japanese 
companies. One issue of concern for the Committee was whether the POW's 
held in Japan are receiving an appropriate level of advocacy from the 
U.S. Government. In the Holocaust litigation, the United States 
appropriately played a facilitating role in discussions between the 
German companies and the victims. The Justice Department also declined 
to file a statement of interest in the litigation--even when requested 
by the court. The efforts of the administration were entirely 
appropriate and the settlement, which was just recently finalized, was 
an invaluable step toward moving forward from the past.
  Here, in contrast, there has been no effort by our Government, 
through the State Department or otherwise, to open a dialog between the 
Japanese and the former POW's. Moreover, in response to a request from 
the court, the Justice Department did, in fact, file two statements of 
interest which were very damaging to the claims of the POW's--stating 
in essence that their claims were barred by the 1951 Peace Treaty with 
Japan and the War Claims Act.
  From a moral perspective, the claims of those forced into labor by 
private German companies and private Japanese companies appear to be of 
similar merit, yet they have spurred different responses from the 
administration. Why?
  Here in the Senate, we have been doing what we can to help these 
former prisoners of war. With the help of Senator Feinstein, we have 
moved through the Judiciary Committee Senate bill 1902, the Japanese 
Records Disclosure Act, which would set up a commission to declassify 
thousands of Japanese Imperial Army records held by the U.S. Government 
after appropriate screening for sensitive national security information 
and the like.
  The Senate is also doing what it can to fulfill our Government's 
responsibility to these men by including a provision in the DOD 
authorization bill which would pay a $20,000 gratuity to POW's from 
Bataan and Corregidor who were forced into labor. Such payment would be 
in addition to any other payments these veterans may receive under 
law--and thus would not compromise any of the claims asserted in the 
litigation against the Japanese companies.
  The bill I introduce today, an expression of the sense of the Senate 
that the U.S. Government should attempt to facilitate a dialog, as it 
did in the German case, is a logical and appropriate extension of our 
other efforts. Ultimately, I do not know where we will come out on the 
precise meaning of the Treaty. Regardless of how the technical legal 
issues are resolved--which the courts will determine--in light of the 
moral imperative and interests of simple fairness, we must ask 
ourselves why shouldn't the United States facilitate a dialog between 
the parties? When is good faith discussion a bad idea? I think we owe 
this much to these brave veterans and their families. I believe a good 
faith dialog is the first step towards a just resolution that 
accommodates the various moral, legal, national security, and foreign 
policy interests which are at play.
  I urge all Members to support this amendment.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to 
the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 158) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 158

       Whereas from December 1941 to April 1942, members of the 
     United States Armed Forces fought valiantly against 
     overwhelming Japanese military forces on the Bataan peninsula 
     of the Island of Luzon in the Philippines, thereby preventing 
     Japan from accomplishing strategic objectives necessary for 
     achieving early military victory in the Pacific during World 
     War II;
       Whereas after receiving orders to surrender on April 9, 
     1942, many of those valiant combatants were taken prisoner of 
     war by Japan and forced to march 85 miles from the Bataan 
     peninsula to a prisoner-of-war camp at former Camp O'Donnell;
       Whereas, of the members of the United States Armed Forces 
     captured by Imperial Japanese forces during the entirety of 
     World

[[Page S11433]]

     War II, a total of 36,260 of them survived their capture and 
     transit to Japanese prisoner-of-war camps to be interned in 
     those camps, and 37.3 percent of those prisoners of war died 
     during their imprisonment in those camps:
       Whereas that march resulted in more than 10,000 deaths by 
     reason of starvation, disease, and executions;
       Whereas many of those prisoners of war were transported to 
     Japan where they were forced to perform slave labor for the 
     benefit of private Japanese companies under barbaric 
     conditions that included torture and inhumane treatment as to 
     such basic human needs as shelter, feeding, sanitation, and 
     health care;
       Whereas the private Japanese companies unjustly profited 
     from the uncompensated labor cruelly exacted from the 
     American personnel in violation of basic human rights;
       Whereas these Americans do not make any claims against the 
     Japanese Government or the people of Japan, but, rather, seek 
     some measure of justice from the Japanese companies that 
     profited from their slave labor;
       Whereas they have asserted claims for compensation against 
     the private Japanese companies in various courts in the 
     United States;
       Whereas the United States Government has, to date, opposed 
     the efforts of these Americans to receive redress for the 
     slave labor and inhumane treatment, and has not made any 
     efforts to facilitate discussions among the parties;
       Whereas in contrast to the claims of the Americans who were 
     prisoners of war in Japan, the Department of State has 
     facilitated a settlement of the claims made against private 
     German businesses by individuals who were forced into slave 
     labor by the Government of the Third Reich of Germany for the 
     benefit of the German businesses during World War II: Now, 
     therefore, be it
         Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that it is in 
     the interest of justice and fairness that the United States, 
     through the Secretary of State or other appropriate 
     officials, put forth its best efforts to facilitate 
     discussions designed to resolve all issues between former 
     members of the Armed Forces of the United States who were 
     prisoners of war forced into slave labor for the benefit of 
     Japanese companies during World War II and the private 
     Japanese companies who profited from their slave labor.

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