Honda and Rohrabacher Introduce New POW Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a news conference on Capitol Hill Thursday, California congressmen Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and Mike Honda (D-San Jose) announced they are introducing a new bill to assist American World War II veterans who were held prisoners by Japan and forced to perform slave labor for Japanese companies.

The proposed bill, called the "Justice For American World War II POWs Act of 2001," would allow American military POWs to sue those companies in U.S. state or federal court for losses and injuries sustained during the time they were imprisoned and forced into slave labor.

The congressman said they pushed the measure so that claims can be filed in state courts over the next 10 years.

The bill also zeroes on Section 14(b) of the Treaty of Peace with Japan and declares that provision of the treaty does not constitute an agreement by the United States to disallow any lawsuits by its POWs against Japan and its corporations.

If adopted by Congress, the measure instructs the courts to apply the statute of limitations of the state where any lawsuit has been filed.

California is one of those states that has extended its statute of limitations in regards to World War II / POW related cases.

The bill also provides that if Japan enters into peace settlement terms with another country that are more beneficial to that country than to the United States, those additional benefits will also be extended to the United States.

According to the congressmen, 36,000 U.S. servicemen as well as civilians were forced into slave labor in Japan during the war, with more than 10,000 dying in captivity due to abuse and malnutrition.

Representatives of a number of veterans organizations have been visiting the two lawmakers' offices and declared time is running out for many of the former POWs. And this new bill is a response to them.

"I am proud to introduce, the Justice for United States Prisoners of War Act with my colleague from California, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher," said Honda. "It is my great hope that this historic legislation will restore some measure of dignity to our World War II POWs by setting the record straight and giving them their much deserved and long-awaited day in court."

"These American heroes don't seek any action or retaliation against the current Japanese government or against the Japanese people. They seek just compensation from the Japanese companies who profited from their suffering," Rohrabacher told a news conference.

In an interview before the news conference, Honda emphasized that this bill is designed to right a wrong and that both the majority and minority leaders of both parties have signed on as supporters.

"In our letters to our colleagues, we made an explicit effort to tell what this bill is not," he stated. "This bill is not against the Japanese government. It's not against the Japanese people nor is it against any Asian Americans."

Honda pointed out that this new bill is designed to give former American POWs a new opportunity to move ahead with their lawsuits against Japanese companies that formerly used them as slaves.

"In recent times, the courts have been denying and judging against the plaintiffs who are ex-POWS," noted Honda. "What the bill does is, it directs the judiciary to interpret the peace treaty in a way that allows these folks to have some standing in court. Our POWs should have the same standing and advantages as other people in countries that signed peace treaties with Japan that have more advantages in their peace treaties than we do."

Asked why he is supporting such a measure, Honda was quick to respond.

"First of all, the veterans came to me," he stated. "Second, the issue is a good one. It's about justice. It's about having your day in court. It's about due process. I believe that people should have that right to get their grievances heard in court. The way people have been interpreting the peace treaty, the veterans have not been able to get their day in court. They should have that day in court."

Honda recognizes the new bill does face challenges.

"We'll have to interpret the peace treaty in a different way, specifically Section 14(b). It says all calls for reparations have been waived by this peace treaty, by the countries, and their nationals. They hang their hat on that article, but there's another article in the peace treaty, which allows people to have their day in court. It says that other countries that have better advantages. In our peace treaty we should be given that advantage. This is a pathway for the POWs to sue," remarked the San Jose lawmaker.

"I don't believe that the treaty that we had with Germany denied anybody from redress," he added. "Why should this be different? If there can be some clarification to allow people after 50 years to have their case heard in court, they should have that right. We're not saying what the outcome should be, but we certainly feel they should have the right to have their case heard."

Honda, who supported the redress movement for Japanese Americans, compared the current battle by POWs to win their day in court with what happened to his community.

"Just like the redress in our country," he explained, "it was a movement to get an apology. It was recognition by our government that something went wrong. They apologized and corrected it. We still have Supreme Court rulings that have not been overturned yet, and that's like a smoking gun out there."

Honda, a former educator and state assemblyman, noted the bill was also another way of educating the public about the plight of American POWs.

"I don't think people know about our ex-POWs," he stated. "If there is a higher level of education of electorate -- our constituents, of our youngsters -- I think the likelihood of it happening again will be minimized. I'm not picking on Japan; it happens to be just one of the subjects." When Honda served in California's State Assembly, he was criticized for authoring a resolution, that was adopted by both houses, that condemned Japan for its World War II atrocities and called for reparations to its victims.

Honda sees this new bill differently and points out he is dominating his time with producing legislation that affects a wide spectrum of issues.

"For example, I've got a bill called Net Corp, which has to do with melding private and public activities for high school students -- to bring in high technology to our classrooms and help our classroom teachers to stay on top of the changes in technology," he noted. "I've got other issues that I am fighting for in the budget. We want to make sure that special education gets funded so local school districts will have more discretion over the use of those general funds. I'm working on energy making sure the president understands that energy is of national concern and not just California."

Although the bill comes in the midst of the sinking of a Japanese fishing boat by a U.S. nuclear sub and the economies of both countries in a soft situation, Honda feels this new POW bill will not hurt relations between the two countries.

"Our relationship with Japan is very strong," Honda declared. "It's firm, and it's got a lot of history to it. I don't believe all of these issues will harm our relationship and our alliance with Japan."

How optimistic is Honda about the passage of the new POW bill?

"Personally, I think it would be a bill that would be difficult to say ‘no' to," he reflected. "How do say ‘no' to a prisoner of war who waited patiently over 50 years to be heard? -- to have that chance to be heard. I think it's a good solid issue. Whether it will be successful in Congress, I don't know. I sense that it should be, but we won't know until the shower is over with."

Japan has rejected compensation demands, arguing the issue was settled under the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty. The U.S. government has supported Tokyo's position.

Kyodo News contributed to this report.