Officials from Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation have apologized for the company’s use of American prisoners of war as slave laborers during World War II.
Company official Hikaru Kimura apologized to 94-year-old former prisoner James Murphy during a public ceremony Sunday in Los Angeles, California. Earlier, he apologized to Mr. Murphy privately.
James Murphy was one of about 900 prisoners of war who were forced to work in company-owned mines and industrial centers during the war. He said he and others had waited 70 years for the apology.
About 12,000 American prisoners of war were used as slave laborers by the Japanese government and private companies. Thousands of them died. The Japanese government has apologized for using the Americans as forced laborers. The apology by Mitsubishi is the first ever by a Japanese company.
