Triggered by South Korea’s Supreme Court ruling against Nippon Steel, the foundations of the 1965 Japan–Korea Claims Agreement have been shaken. This essay examines historical labor realities, wage data from the coal mining era, and the scale of infrastructure left behind by Japan, while introducing a Sankei editorial that discusses potential diplomatic and economic responses.

2019-01-16
I revisited my interview notes because, just as expected, the South Korean Supreme Court had committed a reckless act.
It concerned a lawsuit filed by four South Koreans against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal.

A chapter I published on January 14, titled “Now ranked 16th and 19th in the official hashtag rankings: Daegu,” has entered Ameba’s official hashtag ranking at 18th place for Daegu.
The following is from a chapter I published on November 6, 2018, titled “Total assets amount to about 17 trillion yen, of which the Korean portion equals roughly 8 trillion yen in today’s value,” which is now ranked 16th under Daegu on Ameba.
Another chapter with the same content, titled “Economic sanctions and visa restrictions should be considered,” is ranked 19th.
The following is from an article published on page 12 of the Sankei Shimbun on November 6 under the headline “South Korea, Stop Taking Japan for Granted.”
Three years ago, I interviewed Mr. Lee Daiichi, then 64, a former restaurant owner living in Tagawa City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Mr. Lee’s uncle had worked before the war at the Hōjō coal mine in the Chikuhō region.
“My uncle came to Japan on orders from the head of a Korean village in his hometown of Daegu, but he said many others came voluntarily seeking work,” Lee recalled.
The Japanese government enacted the National Mobilization Law in July 1939.
Koreans on the peninsula were not subject to conscription until September 1944, one year before the end of the war.
Until then, recruitment had been voluntary through private brokers.
Because of the danger, coal mining wages were extraordinarily high.
According to Tatsuo Ueda, then 91, former cultural property specialist of Hōjō Town, in 1920 the average monthly wage of a coal miner was 37 yen 77 sen when a sack of rice (60 kg) cost 12 yen.
A sack of rice was the annual consumption of an adult male.
That means miners earned the equivalent of three years’ worth of rice in one month.
I reviewed my notes because, as expected, the South Korean Supreme Court had made a reckless ruling.
Four South Koreans filed suit against Nippon Steel.
None were conscripted; they came voluntarily in response to recruitment, seeking high wages.
Yet the court accepted their demand for compensation rather than unpaid wages.
This effectively denied the 1965 Japan–Korea Claims Agreement, which clearly stated that all claims were settled completely and finally.
It could even lead to the seizure of Japanese corporate assets.
As for Japan’s response, merely proposing referral to the International Court of Justice—which requires the other party’s consent—or repeatedly expressing “regret” would amount to doing nothing.
Economic sanctions and visa restrictions should be considered.
Japan paid South Korea a total of 500 million dollars in grants and loans.
It also abandoned all infrastructure left on the Korean Peninsula—roads, ports, railways, and hydroelectric plants.
Total assets amounted to about 17 trillion yen, with the Korean portion equivalent to 8 trillion yen today.
These figures were calculated from documents of GHQ, the former Imperial Army, and the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs.
If the agreement is to be broken, Japan should present an invoice for 8 trillion yen.
The patience of the Japanese people is nearing its limit.
South Korea must stop relying on Japan indefinitely.
Editorial Deputy Chief
Sasaki Rui