[Milsurplus] OT: Remembering the disremembered

[Hue Miller]

Mitsubishi is well known internationally for fine automotive and consumer electronics
products. During WW2, Mitsubishi as one of Japan's leading industrial groups, 
produced warplanes and vehicles as well as running mining operations.

In the last 2 years of the war, Japanese occupation forces tricked or abducted some
39,000 Chinese to work in their mines in Japan, along with nationals from other countries,
including Allied POWs. The mortality rate among the Chinese workers was 18% in one
year's time. When the war ended, the workers were issued IOU statements for their 
"wages" and they were returned to China. Unfortunately for them, Japanese banks in
China were gone; there was no way to collect. The surviving workers are still bringing
lawsuits against Mitsubishi and other companies for back pay, with no luck. The firms
refuse even to pay the wage total promised on the issued IOU's, let alone interest.
Their argument is that any such problems were handled by inter-government treaties.
In a suit in 2003, Mitsubishi lawyers even denied the firm had ever used forced labor;
questioned whether Japan had in fact invaded China, and said the final judgement "should
be left to posterity". They described the postwar Tokyo war crimes trials, as "revenge"
and "victor's justice" - changing the picture to one of Japanese victimhood.

The above abstract of an article in NY Times, 15 Nov 2006. 
It's easy to forget the forgotten, and go on with the hurried  present.
I don't know if such considerations weigh into any of your own spending decisions.
They do, mine.  -Hue Miller