Reiwa 7 (Wa) 17895 Damages Claim Case

In 2025, a Japanese district court heard a damages lawsuit filed by South Korean victims and families of wartime forced labor during World War II. The plaintiffs sought compensation from a major Japanese steelmaker for unpaid wages and inhumane treatment. The defendant argued that all claims were fully and finally settled by the 1965 Agreement on the Settlement of Problems Concerning Property and Claims and Economic Cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea. The case reopened the contentious issue of whether individual rights to claim damages survived the intergovernmental treaty, echoing the 2018 South Korean Supreme Court rulings that had already strained bilateral ties.

The court dismissed the claims, holding that under the 1965 treaty and subsequent diplomatic agreements, individual rights to claim had been converted into state-to-state economic cooperation, and that Japan’s sovereign immunity barred revisiting the matter in domestic courts.

Whether the 1965 bilateral claims agreement extinguished individual victims’ right to seek compensation, and whether Japanese courts must recognize foreign judgments on state-involved wartime acts under international law principles of sovereign immunity and comity.

The ruling deepened diplomatic tensions between Japan and South Korea, triggered mass protests in Seoul, and prompted the South Korean government to issue a strong condemnation. It further polarized public opinion on historical reconciliation and highlighted the persistent legal and political deadlock over colonial-era grievances in East Asia.