Five men and women who fled to Japan were sent to the North Korean government after the 1955's because Koreans living in Japan and Japanese wives were forced to live a harsh life due to the "return project" that went to North Korea. The decision of the court seeking compensation will be handed down in the Tokyo District Court on the 23rd.
This is the first time that a trial against the North Korean government has been made as a defendant, and it will be interesting to see what kind of judgment the court will make regarding the damage and liability caused by the "return business."
In the "return project" that lasted 25 years from 1959, about 93,000 people, including Koreans and Japanese wives living in Japan, went to North Korea.
Five men and women who participated in this project and then fled to Japan filed a complaint, saying that they were forced to live a harsh life for a long time without sufficient food. I am seeking compensation of 100 million yen.
According to the plaintiffs' defense team, this is the first trial against the North Korean government, and in the first trial held at the Tokyo District Court three years after the complaint was filed last October, five plaintiffs said, "North Korea. Was repeatedly said to be a "paradise on earth," but his actions were gradually restricted and food was no longer distributed. "
On the other hand, the North Korean side did not appear in court, and the trial was completed once.
The ruling will be handed down at 3:00 pm on the 23rd, and it will be interesting to see what the court will say about the damage caused by the "return project" and the liability of the North Korean government.
"Return business" that lasted for 25 years
The "return project" from Japan to North Korea was started for humanitarian purposes through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the first flight departed from Niigata Port on December 14, 1959, more than 60 years ago.
The business lasted for 25 years, including a period of temporary suspension, and about 93,000 Koreans and Japanese wives living in Japan went to North Korea.
There is poverty and discrimination in Japan in the background, and those who participated in the project said that they crossed the sea with a longing for life in North Korea, which was touted as a "paradise on earth" at that time.
However, due to lack of food, it was not possible to receive sufficient distribution, and movement was restricted under strict supervision. It means that many people can no longer do it.
Only a small part of them returned to Japan due to North Korean defectors, and it seems that there are many cases where their families are left in North Korea.
One of the plaintiffs, Eiko Kawasaki "Suffering is ongoing"
An unusual trial against the North Korean government as a defendant.
In the 60 years since the start of the "return business," the plaintiffs want many people to know the situation at that time and the suffering that continues to this day through the trial.
One of the plaintiffs, Eiko Kawasaki (79), a second-generation resident of Japan, was interested in North Korea, which was advertised as a "paradise on earth" when she attended a Korean high school in Kyoto Prefecture in the 1955's. I embraced it.
In addition to wanting to experience what socialism is like, she heard that she was free to go on to school or get a job, and she decided to join the business.
She initially planned to go with her family, but she took time to prepare, so Kawasaki, who was 17 years old, left alone first.
Regarding the impression when arriving at North Korea's Chongjin port, "I heard that it is the third largest international trading port in North Korea, but with only one crane, some people were welcomed. Everyone was thin. I thought I was fooled. "
When her family shouldn't come, she sent a letter to avoid censorship and she started living alone.
She was assigned a place to live in a local city away from Pyongyang and was transferred to high school, but the food in the dormitory was poor and she lived while selling her belongings in the black market, so she said, "Living alone. It was really hard to go. "
She then married a local man and had five children, but she ran a cafeteria in the black market, with insufficient food distribution and hungry children catching and eating insects. It is said that they made a living by doing something like that.
With some acquaintances starving to death, I decided that I couldn't stay in North Korea anymore.
She prepared to go unnoticed, evaded strict surveillance, crossed the border with China, and was able to return to Japan for the first time in about 40 years.
Later, one of her daughters and her child fled to Japan, but the other family members are still in North Korea.
We sent food and other supplies from Japan, and once a year we went to the border with China to keep in touch, but it became difficult due to the influence of the new corona, and we are still in a situation where we do not even know the safety.
The lawyer said that the hurdles for filing a complaint against other countries are high.
Kawasaki said, "I don't know what the children left in North Korea are doing now. The return project is not a story of the past, and suffering and sadness are ongoing. Through the trial. I hope this will give many people a chance to think that this should not happen again. "