A Japanese court has ruled that North Korea must pay 22 million yen ($143,000) in damages to each of four plaintiffs who were deceived into relocating under a postwar repatriation programme. The Tokyo District Court on Monday found Pyongyang responsible for human rights violations, marking a groundbreaking decision for survivors who were lured by false promises of a 'paradise on Earth'.
Judge Taiichi Kamino stated that the plaintiffs endured decades of harsh conditions without freedom of movement, education, or employment. 'It's not an overstatement to say most of their lives were ruined by North Korea,' he said, ordering total damages of 88 million yen ($572,000). The ruling acknowledges that the plaintiffs, both ethnic Koreans and Japanese, were coerced into remaining in North Korea after moving there between 1959 and 1984.
Lawyer Kenji Fukuda welcomed the decision but noted the challenge of collecting compensation, as Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic relations. 'The ruling is just a piece of paper and getting the compensation money is a challenge,' he said. One plaintiff, 83-year-old Eiko Kawasaki, who defected to Japan via China in 2003 after 43 years in the North, expressed doubt that Kim Jong Un would respond.
The case originally involved five plaintiffs, two of whom have since died. In 2022, the court had rejected claims on jurisdictional grounds, but the Tokyo High Court reversed that decision in 2023, recognising that North Korea violated fundamental rights. More than 93,000 ethnic Koreans and their families moved to North Korea under the programme, with only about 150 returning to Japan.
Human Rights Watch’s Japan director, Kane Doi, urged the Japanese government to build on the ruling and press North Korea to take responsibility. Kawasaki also called for accountability from the pro-North organisation Chongryon and an apology from the Japanese government, which facilitated the repatriation deal.
