Japan refuses compensation for war atrocities on Indian soil

A B Mahapatra in New Delhi

The Japanese government has turned down a demand made by Indian Parliamentarians to compensate Andaman tribals for the war atrocities against them during World War II.

The Andaman and Nicobar islands were under imperial Japanese occupation for nearly four years from March 23, 1942 to November 1945.

"We are not bound by any demand," said a Japanese diplomat who did not wish to be named, "But the ongoing effort (the Peace, Friendship and Exchange Initiative programme) must be construed as our deep repentance of Japanese imperialism. It's a good-will gesture towards all our Asian neighbours."

During the war, Japanese soldiers had executed many Indians -- mainly educated and intelligent Andamanese -- on suspicion that they were British spies. Last year, five Indian MPs, in a two-page memorandum, demanded Japan pay compensation to the slain victims's relatives.

According to the memorandum, countless trials and mass executions took place, and hundreds of innocents, brought over from other islands on the pretext of rehabilitation, were pushed into the sea off Havock island, six kilometers north of Port Blair, capital of the islands.

The MPs's memorandum had demanded that, in India's 50th year of Independence, the Japanese government conduct a case study of their Andaman occupation. "If they can do it in other South-East Asian countries, why can't they do the same here?" the MPs asked.

"The Japanese should initiate a project which would be beneficial to the islanders. Besides, they should erect a war memorial and construct a bridge which can be named 'Indo-Japanese Friendship Setu' in Andaman and Nicobar islands as a tribute to the victims," Andaman MP Manoranjan Bhakta observed.

Last year, under the Peace, Friendship and Exchange Initiative programme, the Japanese government had initiated hundreds of new projects to ascertain the missing links of its imperial occupation history. The authorities will spend 100 billion yen over 10 years on this. Corporate house like Mitsubishi and Toyota have contributed millions of dollars on various projects about the Japanese occupation.