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NHK's Finest Hour: Japan's Official Record of Chinese Forced Labor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

William Underwood
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“We have heard that in March of Showa 21 [1946], the directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MOFA] compiled such an investigative record. However, it was thought that if the documents were used for war crimes prosecutions they would cause trouble to a great many people. Therefore, all of the documents were burned and MOFA does not now possess even a portion of the documents”

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Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 4 , Issue 8 , August 2006 , e10
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
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Copyright © The Authors 2006

References

ENDNOTES

[1] The Diet remarks are quoted in NHK Publishing, The Phantom Foreign Ministry Report: The Record of Chinese Forced Labor (Maboroshi no Gaimusho Hokokusho: Chugokujin Kyosei Renko Kyosei Rodo no Kiroku). Tokyo: 1994; 9-10. The Kishi-era cover up is documented in William Underwood, “Chinese forced labor, the Japanese government and the prospects for redress.” Posted at Japan Focus on 8 July 2005.

[2] NHK Publishing, 10.

[3] NHK Special, “The Phantom Foreign Ministry Report: The Record of Chinese Forced Labor (Maboroshi no Gaimusho Hokokusho: Chugokujin Kyosei Renko Kyosei Rodo no Kiroku), 59-minute TV documentary, nationally broadcast on 14 August 1993. See Footnote 1 for the 1994 book by NHK Publishing.

[4] “Japan releases WWII forced labor reports,” Mainichi Daily News Online, 18 July 2003.

[5] Japan House of Representatives website. Written statement to Diet by Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro, 26 August 2003. Available

[6] See Tessa Morris-Suzuki, “Free speech - silenced voices: the Japanese media, the comfort women tribunal, and the NHK affair.” Japan Focus, 13 Aug. 2005. Also available, by one of the principals involved, is Lisa Yoneyama, “NHK's censorship of Japanese crimes against humanity.” Harvard Asia Quarterly, Winter 2002. Abe Shinzo, now chief cabinet secretary and leading prime ministerial candidate, was another principal.

[7] MOFA website. “Statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the result of the study on the issue of ‘comfort women,’ “4 August 1993. Available

[8] Daily Yomiuri editorial, “Asian Women's Fund based on distortions,” 6 Feb. 2005.

[9] Liberal Democratic Party website, “A history of the Liberal Democratic Party,” chapter 16. Available

[10] Chugokujin Senso Higaisha no Yokyu wo Sasaeru Kai Nyuusu (Suopei quarterly newsletter), No. 51, Feb. 2006.

[11] Satani Masayuki, The Truth and Glory of the Coal Mines: The Fabrication of Korean Forced Labor (Tanko no Shinjitsu to Eiko: Chosenjin Kyosei Renko no Kyoko). Nogata, Fukuoka: Nippon Kaigi Fukuoka Chikuho Chapter, December 2005.

[12] See Linda Sieg, “Japan lobby group backs patriotism.” Reuters story posted at www.swissinfo.org on 15 June 2006.

[13] Charles Hawley, “Germany agrees to open Holocaust archives.” Spiegel Online, 19 April 2006. Available

[14] For the FMR in its entirety, see Tanaka Hiroshi and Matsuzawa Tessei, eds., Chinese Forced Labor Documents: “The Foreign Ministry Report”, All Five Volumes (Chugokujin Kyosei Renko Shiryo: “Gaimusho Hokokusho” Zen Gobunsatsu Hoka). Tokyo: Gendai Shokan, 1995. In addition, a total of 111 Site Reports were analyzed in Nishinarita Yutaka, Chinese Forced Labor (Chugokujin Kyosei Renko). Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 2002. Nishinarita suspects that a full 135 reports may never have been produced, as some sites received workers via intra-company transfers.

[15] NHK Publishing, 44.

[16] Ibid., 85.

[17] Ibid., 197.

[18] For details about the NCLA's organization and operations, see Tanaka Hiroshi, “The state, corporations and Chinese forced labor: the mechanism of ‘administrative provision’ of labor power” (Chugokujin no kyosei renko to kuni to kigyo: rodoryoku “gyosei kyoshutsu” no mekanizumu), in Kosho Tadashi, Tanaka Hiroshi and Sato Takeo, eds., Nihon Kigyo no Senso Hanzai: Kyosei Renko no Kigyo Sekinin. Tokyo: Soshisha, 2000; 126-153.

[19] NHK Publishing, 73.

[20] Ibid., 146.

[21] Ibid., 149-150.

[22] Ibid., 150.

[23] See Suzuki Kenji, Living Witnesses of Chinese Forced Labor (Chugokujin Kyosei Renko no Iki Shonintachi). Tokyo: Kobunken, 2003.

[24] NHK Publishing, 118-119.

[25] Ibid., 129.

[26] Ibid., 128.

[27] Ibid., 152.

[28] Ibid., 148.

[29] Ibid., 161-162.

[30] Ibid., 155-156.

[31] Ibid., 43.

[32] Ibid., 43.

[33] Ibid., 167-168.

[34] Ibid., 172.

[35] Ibid., 210-213.

[36] Ibid., 61.

[37] Ibid., 58-59.

[38] Ibid., 191.

[39] Linda Goetz Holmes, Unjust Enrichment: How Japan's Companies Built Postwar Fortunes using American POWs. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001; 177-79.

[40] NHK Publishing, 62.

[41] “GHQ ni hokokusho dasazu,” Nishinippon Shimbun, 24 Dec. 2003; “Foreign Ministry dragged feet with GHQ,” Asahi Shimbun online, 25 Dec. 2003.

[42] NHK Publishing, 62-63.

[43] See “Gaimusho ‘gokuhi’ bunsho ga kataru Chugokujin kyosei renko kyosei rodo jiken no sengoshi: kokusai hanzai inmetsu kosaku no kazukazu to heiwa yuko wo negau naigai seron.” Fukuoka: Liigaru Bukkusu, 2003. The 32-page booklet excerpts MOFA archival documents submitted to the Fukuoka High Court by plaintiffs’ lawyers. See Footnote 1 for the author's original article.

[44] See William Underwood, “East Asia's Troubled Waters - Part III: Chinese forced- labor victims press Japan to embrace emerging international standards of accountability.” Posted at YaleGlobal Online on 2 May 2006. Available

[45] NHK Publishing, 222.

[46] Ibid., 223.

[47] Ibid., 223.

[48] Ibid., 194-209.

[49] Ibid., 209.