Sendai bar association calls for relief of ‘red purge’ victims

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Sendai bar association calls for relief of ‘red purge’ victims

The Sendai Bar Association on October 12 recommended that the prime minister, the Miyazaki governor, and Hitachi Ltd. swiftly restore “red purge” victims’ honor and compensate them for their longtime suffering.

The recommendation was issued in response to a claim filed at the local bar association by six “red purge” victims in Miyagi Prefecture, a former junior high school teacher and employees of Hitachi or Tohoku Electric Power Co.

The recommendation states that from August 1949 to October 1950, they were dismissed on the grounds that they were members of the Japanese Communist Party, “Not only having been dishonored, they were forced to endure severe living conditions by losing their livelihoods.”

It went on to say, “Such a blatant violation of human rights should not be tolerated under any circumstances. The government has a grave responsibility for leaving this issue unsolved even it could have easily taken appropriate measures to reinstate their honor after the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect in 1952.”

A similar recommendation has been issued separately by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations as well as the Nagasaki and Yokohama bar associations.

- Akahata, October 13, 2010