Japan Press Weekly

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2008 October 22 - 28 [CIVIL RIGHTS]

Federation of Bar Associations urges government and companies to give redress to Red Purge victims

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (Nichibenren) on October 27 recommended that the government and corporations involved give redress to three victims of human rights violations during the Red Purge that swept across post-war Japan.

The three persons, who live in Hyogo Prefecture at present, were purged from their workplaces in 1950. Ohashi Yutaka, 78, worked for the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry, Yasuhara Seijiro, 87, for Kawasaki Steel Corp., and Kawasaki Yoshihiro, 91, for Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.

The Red Purge swept through Japan from 1945 to 1950. It is estimated that the Japanese government and companies kicked 40,000 JCP members and supporters out of workplaces under the order of the U.S. occupation forces by labeling them “subversive elements.”

JCP member of the House of Councilors Nihi Sohei commented on the Nichibenren recommendation as follows:

Nichibenren has recognized that the Red Purge was violation of human rights and called on the government and corporations to “take appropriate measures, including compensation and recovery of honor” to redress the injustice. The Nichibenren action will encourage all Red Purge victims who are demanding such legal redress.

Nichibenren acknowledged that the three complainants were purged based on their ideology and not on charges of acts of sabotage to destabilize corporate activities, and concluded that the Red Purge was a violation of the constitutional rights of freedom of thought and conscience (Article 19), the principle of equality under the law (Article 14), the freedom of association (Article 21(1)), and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Referring to the nature of the Red Purge issue, the recommendation stated, “The Red Purge is a historical matter that affects the fundamental principles of democratic society and it continues to be an important matter in our society and at workplaces.” This recommendation’s stance is very important.

The recommendation also states, “When the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect in 1952, the Japanese government has had no barrier to giving redress to the Red Purge victims. The government must be held responsible for failing to do so.”

Aside from the judgment of whether “the MacArthur Directive has extraconstitutional rights or not”, the recommendation provided the possibility to demand relief measures for the Red Purge victims’ human rights.

The JCP hopes that the government and corporations in question will accept the Nichibenren recommendation and take necessary measures.