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A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )Report 3
Yumiko Yamamoto (Representative of Nadeshiko Action)

Interpreting the ILO Convention:
Is Wartime Labor a Violation of the Forced Labor Convention?

Those who oppose the registration of the Sado gold mines as a UNESCO World Heritage siteargue that Korean wartime labor was a violation of the International Labor Organization's(ILO) Forced Labor Convention. The basis for this, they claim, is that the annual report of the
ILO's Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations(hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) found that Japan had violated the Convention.
Therefore, they argue, the Sado mines, where Korean laborers were employed, were also in
violation of the Forced Labor Convention and thus cannot qualify for UNESCO listing.
The annual reports of the Committee are available on the ILO official website database (1), so I
looked up the actual findings of these reports in all editions between 1994 and 2022.
Comfort women were first mentioned in the 1996 edition, while conscripted laborers from
China and Korea are first described as wartime industrial forced labor in the 1999 edition. Since
then, the two issues of wartime comfort women and industrial forced labor have been combined
and treated as a violation of the Forced Labor Convention for more than 20 years.
The information provided to the Committee was provided by workers’ organizations andreflected in its annual reports. These organizations submitted information to the Committeethat “Chinese and Koreans were forced to work in harsh conditions without compensation, andmany died as slaves”. In response to this, rather than refute these allegations of forced labor andslavery, the Japanese government continued to express its remorse and explain its efforts tomake amends.
When the NGOs first sparked the issue at the UN, claiming that the comfort women of theJapanese military were forced sex slaves, the Japanese government failed to object. Thisfacilitated the spread of the sex slave theory, which has now spread from the UN to the rest of
the world. The path by which the forced labor theory acquired widespread credence is strikingly
similar.

1. Proponents of the Forced Labor Theory - Grounds for Violation of the ILO Convention
The following paragraph is from a paper presented at the academic seminar “Response to theForced Registration of Japan’s Sado Mines as a World Heritage Site and its Connotations”
hosted by the Northeast Asian History Foundation in Seoul, Korea, earlier this year on
February 16.
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冊子テンプレート
A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )“In its “Annual Report” of March 1999, the ILO's Committee of Experts on the Application ofConventions and Recommendations had already found Japan to be in violation of the Forced
Labor Convention, stating: “This Committee considers that the massive conscription of labour
to work for private industry in Japan under such deplorable conditions was a violation of theConvention”.

The underlined section can be found on p. 130 of the 1999 report.
The Forced Labor Convention states in Article 2, paragraph 2 (a) (d) that labor “exacted in
virtue of compulsory military service laws for work of a purely military nature” or “in the eventof war” does not constitute forced labor. (2)On April 27, 2021, the Japanese government issued a cabinet decision concerning theexpressions “forced mobilization” and “forced labor” in which it affirmed, “We do not believethat labor performed through “recruitment”, “official mediation”, or “conscription” falls
under the category of “forced labor” as stipulated in the said Convention, and that the term
“forced labor” is subsequently inappropriate”.(3)So, why did the Committee include this subject in its 1999 Report? Why did it rule that Japanwas in violation of the Forced Labor Convention?

What exactly were these “deplorable

conditions”?

2. ILO Structure - Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions andRecommendations and Its Annual Reports※See Appendix 1

For the purposes of clarity, I have provided an explanation of the Committee of Experts on the
Application of Convention Recommendations, its annual reports, and what position theyoccupy within the ILO. The definitions of the terms used in the ILO are as follows.

ILO Member States: 187 countries
Conventions 190 ⇒ legally binding; 49 Japan ratified conventions
Recommendation 206 ⇒ not legally binding
Observations ⇒ not legally binding. Words used in the annual report of the Committee. Since
Committee observations are adopted as a result of deliberations by internationally authoritative
experts, they are perceived as having a certain political and social weight.
[*See Appendix 1. The annual reports of the Committee are shown in Figure 4].

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A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )2.1 System for Supervising the Application of Standards - Committee of Experts on the
Application of Conventions and Recommendations (4)ILO member states (187 countries) must submit government reports to the ILO Secretariat on
the status of implementation of the international labor conventions they have ratified (inprinciple every five years, and every three years for the eight fundamental conventions and thefour governance conventions). Workers’ organizations may also submit comments andinformation directly to the ILO or via their respective governments.
The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, astandards application monitoring body, is a committee that examines the application of
conventions and recommendations in member countries based on government reports andinput from employers’ and workers’ organizations.
The Committee consists of 20 members appointed for three-year terms. The Committee iscomprised of highly esteemed experts (university professors, judges, and technocrats) of various
nationalities in labor law, international law, and international human rights law.

2-2. Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations: Annual
Reports
The Committee convenes for approximately three weeks from November to December eachyear at the ILO Headquarters in Geneva. The Committee examines the large volume of reports
submitted by member governments and comments from employers and workers’ organizations,compiles observations on the application of ratified conventions by country and convention, andissues an annual report between February and March. These reports are more than 500~600
pages in length and more than 1000 pages in some years.
The report is used as deliberation material for the General Assembly Committee consisting ofgovernment, labor, and management, which convenes between May and June (see Figure 5 inAppendix 1). According to the International Division of the Ministry of Health, Labor andWelfare:1. There are no special qualifications or examinations for workers’ organizations, and any
workers’ organization may submit opinions.
2. The report sent by the Japanese government to the ILO and the opinions of workers’organizations are not released by the Ministry.
3. Japanese members do not participate in the Japan review.

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A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )3. Analysis of the Annual Reports - Reflecting Information from Workers’ Organizations※See Appendix 2
We examined the sections of the Committee's opinion on the application of the JapaneseForced Labor Convention (No. 29, ratified by Japan in 1932) in the Annual Report of theCommittee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations between 1994
and 2022, and tabulated the workers’ organizations that submitted opinions to the Committee
starting with the 1996 edition when the comfort women issue was first addressed. (*Appendix
2)
The report also lists the names of the workers’ organizations that provided information andopinions on which the Committee's views were based, the dates and contents of those opinions,as well as the contents and dates of the government reports.
The majority of comments from the workers’ organizations are critical of the Japanese
government, and they have been submitted by the same organizations many times. The top
three in order of frequency are:1. Federation of Korean Trade Unions: 18 times (the organization's name appears in 18 annual
reports)
2. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions: 17 times
3. All Japan Shipbuilding and Engineering Union: 16 times

As can be seen from these statistics, the two largest Korean labor unions have been sending
their comments for many years.
Among these workers’ organizations, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation has taken the
stance of the Japanese government, stating that the issues of comfort women and forced labor
are not issues that should be discussed by the Committee.

3-1. Contents of the 1999 Report: Wartime Industrial Forced Labor Discussed for the FirstTime
The following is a summary of the main contents of the 1999 Report, in which the issue ofwartime industrial forced labor was discussed for the first time. Underlining is by the author.

・Information from workers’ organizations-All Japan Shipbuilders and Engineering Union: 700,000 people from Korea and 40,000
people from China were conscripted into forced labor and worked in mines, factories, andconstruction sites. Many died due to the harsh working conditions. Despite the fact that34

冊子テンプレート
A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )conditions were supposed to be the same for all workers, they were paid less than their
Japanese counterparts or received no wages at all.
-Tokyo Local Council of Trade Unions: According to the 1946 Ministry of Foreign Affairs
report “Survey of Chinese Labourers and Working Conditions in Japan”, 17.5% to 28.6% died
due to the harsh working environment and brutal treatment.

Japanese Government's View
-We have acknowledged the damage and suffering inflicted on Korea under colonial rule andrepeatedly expressed our regret and remorse.
-We are deeply aware of the serious damage inflicted on the Chinese people by the war.
-We have endeavored to achieve friendship with both China and South Korea.
-We have legally settled the issue of war compensation through the 1965 Treaty on Basic
Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea and the 1972 Treaty of Peace andFriendship between Japan and China.
-We have provided economic assistance to both countries.

The Committee's Position-The Government does not refute the general contents of the MOFA report but instead points
out that it has made payments to the respective governments.
-The Committee considers that the massive conscription of labour to work for private industry
in Japan under such deplorable conditions was a violation of the Convention.
-Intergovernmental assistance alone is not adequate as a remedy for the victims.
-As with the “comfort women”, the Committee has no authority to order the Japanese
government to provide relief to the victims but would prefer that the government accept
responsibility for its actions and take steps to meet the expectations of the victims.

3-2. 1946 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Report: “Survey of Chinese Labourers and Working
Conditions in Japan”
Included among the information submitted by the Tokyo Local Council of Trade Unions was
the 1946 Ministry of Foreign Affairs report “Survey of Chinese Labourers and Working
Conditions in Japan”, a report compiled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Administration
Bureau on March 1, 1946. Chinese laborers(5) were Chinese workers hired by Japanesecompanies from mainland China to come and work in Japan, where there was a labor shortageat the time of the 1942 Cabinet decision “Concerning the Transfer of Chinese Laborers to35

冊子テンプレート
A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )Japan”. The report is a compilation of reports from 135 factories, mines, construction sites,
ports, and other business establishments in Japan where Chinese laborers worked and isavailable in five volumes spanning 648 pages, copies of which are on file at the Foreign
Ministry Archives.
In this summary, it is stated that “the total number of deaths among Chinese laborers sinceembarking from local ports for Japan and securing employment at various workplaces until
their departure from Japanese ports upon repatriation is 6,830, which is 17.5% of the total
38,935 who were repatriated－a considerably high mortality rate” (“Report on the Incident ofForced Mobilization of Chinese Workers, Vol. 3: Circumstances of the Forced Mobilizationand Martyrdom of Chinese Workers” (6). These figures have subsequently been cited as
evidence that many workers perished under forced labor.

3-3. Annual Reports Since the 2001 Edition
Although the issue has been dealt with for more than 20 years since it was first raised in the1999 edition, the Committee's recognition of “Forced Labor Convention violations” remains
unchanged. The Committee's main observations are as follows.
-The Government of Japan is correct in its view that the issue of compensation has been legallysettled by international treaties (bilateral treaties and the Treaty of San Francisco).
-The Committee has no authority to decide on the legal validity (individual compensation) of
bilateral and multilateral international treaties.
-There is a lot of information provided by workers’ organizations. (-Which we are obliged totake up.)-We seek information on the Japanese government's response, including the development ofcourt cases.
-We hope that this long-standing issue does not need to be dealt with in future sessions.

In response to the observations of the Committee, the Japanese government has stated thatthe issue of compensation issue has been settled and continues to reiterate its efforts to makeamends.
Meanwhile, The information provided by workers’ organizations never ceases to run out ofmaterial on both comfort women and forced labor. Various additional information－
including UN Special Rapporteurs, recommendations of UN human rights treaty bodies,
numerous forced labor and comfort women trials in Japan and South Korea, the Supreme
Court of Korea’s decision, and the Japan-South Korea agreement－has been submitted to the36冊子テンプレート
A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )Committee every year along with criticism of the Japanese government.

4. The Japanese Government’s Quandary: No Response to Forced Labor
The Japanese government was mistaken in its choice of explanation when the Committee firstraised the issue in the 1999 report. The wording “we are deeply remorseful and haveapologized (for this)” and “the issue has been legally resolved” led the Committee tounderstand that the Japanese government must have done something wrong, essentially being
interpreted as an admission of forced labor.
However, the Japanese government has not even ventured to explain the historical facts.
Was the slave-like treatment reported by these workers’ organizations really true? Were theytaken away and forced to work? What was the conscription, recruitment, and official
mediation through which workers from the Korean peninsula－a part of Japan at the time－came to the home islands? What kind of contracts did each stage involve, and what were theworking conditions and environment like? What exactly was a comfort woman? What was thecontractual relationship between the comfort women and the brothels, which were an
extension of the public prostitution contract? The Japanese government offered no
explanation concerning these points in the report.
The Committee claims that because both comfort women and Chinese and Korean laborers
were forcibly brought to Japan, where they were coerced into working like slaves underharsh conditions without proper wages and many of them died, this constitutes a violationof the Forced Labor Convention. With no information forthcoming from the Japanese
government to refute the claim, the Committee has little option but to understand it thisway. The same may be said of the UN's interpretation of comfort women to mean sex
slaves.
The Committee's report is only an observation. It does not have the authority to make anofficial interpretation of the Convention, and its views are not binding on Member States.
(7)
The report also included the view of the Committee that there was no need to dwell on thisissue any further, which has already been dealt with for many years, suggesting that it
would like to see the issue put to an end. The Japanese government has also stated that thisis not an issue to be dealt with by the Committee. Nevertheless, if comments and information
are submitted by workers’ organizations, the Committee cannot simply ignore them and is
obliged to address them.
The Tripartite Committee of the Committee on the Application of Standards has never37冊子テンプレート
A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )discussed Japanese wartime forced labor and comfort women. In other words, theInternational Labour Conference does not consider it an important issue.

5. Summary and the Future of the Issue
In relation to the questions raised earlier, the following points have been clarified:‘Why did the Committee raise the issue in its 1999 report?’→’Because it had received information from workers’ organizations’.

‘Why did the Committee determine that Japan had violated the Forced Labor Convention?’→’Because the Japanese government neither denied nor refuted the allegations’.

‘What did the Committee mean by “under such deplorable conditions”?’→ ‘Forced to work, not paid the promised wages, and many died from brutal treatment inharsh conditions.’

Since the 1990s, based on information from NGOs, comfort women have been misconstrued
as sexual slaves and treated as a human rights issue at the UN, with recommendations being
issued to the Japanese government. Simultaneously, an ILO committee began to issue
observations on the issue of comfort women and forced labor based on information fromworkers’ organizations.
Neither at the UN nor the ILO has the Japanese government refuted or explained the facts.
As a result, comfort women have been labeled as sex slaves by the UN, and both comfort
women and wartime labor have been deemed violations of the Forced Labor Convention by
the ILO. The UN and ILO share a very similar attitude towards Japan.

The Japanese government should draw on the results of private-sector research in carefully
explaining the historical fact that there was no violation of the Forced Labor Convention.
The Committee members are experts in law; it is surely not beyond their comprehension.
The Japanese government, which had continued to “express its heartfelt apologies andremorse” over the comfort women, denied that the women were forced to work for the firsttime in its 2019 report, in response to the opinions of a South Korean workers’ organization.

“In its response to the joint observations of the FKTU and the KCTU, the Government also
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冊子テンプレート
A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )indicates that it has conducted a full-scale fact-finding study on the “comfort women” issue
since early 1990’s, and that the “forceful taking away” of “comfort women” by the militaryand government authorities could not be confirmed in any of the documents that theGovernment was able to identify in the abovementioned study.” (8)If they have been investigating the facts since the early 1990s, why did they not refute theclaims earlier? It has been more than 20 years since the first annual report on the comfort
women issue was published in 1996.
This objection should have been asserted when the issue was first raised.
If workers’ organizations continue to submit information and observations to the Committee,
the issue of wartime forced labor will continue to be reflected in its annual report. We cannot
dismiss the possibility that South Korean workers’ organizations will also raise the issue ofthe Sado gold mines. At that time, the government must not make the mistake of responding－as it has hitherto－with “regret” and “remorse” .
The International Affairs Division of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare is
responsible for dealing with the ILO. Because it is unlikely that they are experts on the issueof historical awareness, there should be a system for information sharing and cooperation
between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and private research institutions.

(1)[ Reports of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions andRecommendations
1932 - 2017 edition http://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09661/
2018 edition - available at https://bit.ly/34ujKqU].
(2)[Forced Labor Convention (No.29)
https://www.ilo.org/tokyo/standards/list-of-conventions/WCMS_239150/lang--ja/index.htm](3) Cabinet Minutes No. 94, April 27, 2021
Written answer to a question submitted by Mr. Nobuyuki Baba, a member of the House ofRepresentatives, concerning the expressions “forced mobilization” and “forced labor”.
https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_shitsumon.nsf/html/shitsumon/b204098.htm(4) Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
https://www.ilo.org/tokyo/events-and-meetings/WCMS_423760/lang--ja/index.htm

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冊子テンプレート
A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )(5) “Regarding the Transfer of Chinese Laborers to Japan” Cabinet Decision, November 27,
1942 https://rnavi.ndl.go.jp/politics/entry/bib00428.php(6) Chinese laborers were Chinese workers hired by Japanese companies from mainland China
to come and work in Japan, where there was a labor shortage at the time.
“Report on the Incident of Forced Mobilization of Chinese Workers, Vol. 3: Circumstances of
the Forced Mobilization and Martyrdom of Chinese Workers” (Issued by the Executive
Committee for the Joint Creation of a List of Chinese Martyrs, April 1961) p.340(7) Cabinet Minority Affairs No. 169, No. 61, February 19, 2008
Written reply to a question submitted by Mr. Ritsuo Hosokawa, a member of the House ofRepresentatives, concerning the report of the ILO Committee of Experts
https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_shitsumon.nsf/html/shitsumon/b169061.htm(8) Original text: “Annual Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application ofConventions and Recommendations, 2019” p. 222“In its response to the joint observations of the FKTU and the KCTU, the Government also
indicates that it has conducted a full-scale fact-finding study on the “comfort women” issue
since early 1990’s, and that the “forceful taking away” of “comfort women” by the military andgovernment authorities could not be confirmed in any of the documents that the Government
was able to identify in the abovementioned study.”40

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A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )Appendix 1

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A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )Appendix 2

Annual Reports of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions andRecommendations: 1996 - 2022
Worker’s Organizations That Submitted Comments to the Committee Concerning the Application ofJapan’s Forced Labor Convention (No. 29)

Edition/Period

Labor organizationthat gave an opinion

Issue

Information Obtained from theOrganization/Key Matters in
Bold

1996
83

The Osaka Fu Special English
Teachers’ Union

Gross human rights abuses andsexual abuse of women detainedin so-called military "comfort
stations" during wartime

Comfort women raisedfor the first time
Compensation for Forced Labor

1997
85

Japanese Trade Union
Confederation
The Osaka Fu Special English
Teachers’ Union
Federation of Korean Trade Unions

Gross human rights abuses andsexual abuse of women detainedin so-called military "comfort
stations" during wartime

Comfort Women: A UN Human
Rights issue

1998
86

Federation of Korean Trade Unions
Japanese Labour Unions

1999
87

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
Chinese and Korean
Japanese Trade Union
conscripted laborers raised
Confederation
for the first time
The Korean Confederation of Trade
Wartime “comfort women”
Comfort Women: Criticism from
UnionsWartime industrial forced labour
the Asian Women's Fund (AWF);The Osaka Fu Special English
domestic court cases
Teachers’ Union
Forced Labor: 1946 MOFA Report
Tokyo Local Council of Trade
Unions

2000
88

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
Federation of Korean Trade Unions
The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsOsaka Fu Special English Teachers’
Union

2001
89

Federation of Korean Trade Unions
Japanese Trade Union
Confederation
The Korean Confederation of Trade
Wartime “comfort women”
UnionsWartime industrial forced labour
Netherlands Trade Union
Confederation
Telecommunication Workers Union

Forced labor: compensation forslave laborers, domestic andinternational trials
Comfort women: AWF; UN;
domestic trials

2002
90

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union

Forced labor: compensation forslave laborers; domestic andinternational trials

Wartime “comfort women”
Wartime industrial forced labour

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A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )

2003
91

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
The Korean Confederation of Trade
Victims of wartime sexual slavery
UnionsWartime industrial forced labourFederation of Korean Trade Unions
Tokyo Local Council of Trade
Unions

2004
92

The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsFederation of Korean Trade Unions Military sexual slavery “comfort
The 2003 Tripartite
Tokyo Local Council of Tradewomen”
Committee at the Conference
UnionsWartime industrial forced labour
did not address the issue
All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union

2005
93

The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsFederation of Korean Trade Unions
All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
Japanese Trade Union
Confederation

2006
95

The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsFederation of Korean Trade Unions
All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union

2007
96

The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsFederation of Korean Trade Unions
All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
Tokyo Local Council of Trade
Unions2008
97

All Japan Seamen’s Union
All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
All Toyota Labor Union
Federation of Korean Trade Unions
The Confederation of Korean Trade
UnionsForced labour: domestic trial;
Military sexual slavery (so-called
Heavy Industry Labor Union
trial in China“comfort women”)
International Trade Union
Comfort women: domestic trials;
Wartime industrial forced labour
Confederation
statement by Prime Minister Abe
Japan Dockworkers Union Nagoya
BranchNetherlands Trade Union
Confederation
Tokyo Local Council of Trade
Unions43

Comfort women: AWF; UN;
domestic trials
Forced labor: domestic trials;
individual compensation claims

Sexual slavery (so-called“comfort women”)
Industrial slavery

Refused to take up theCommittee's comments in the2004 Tripartite Committee at
the Conference
Comfort women: domestic trials
Forced labor: domestic trials

Industrial forced labour
Sexual slavery

Forced labour: trials in Japanand China
Comfort women: domestic trials

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A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )

2009
98

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
Japan Dockworkers Union Nagoya
BranchFederation of Korean Trade Unions
The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsHeavy Industry Labor Union
International Trade Union
Confederation
Teacher’s Union Nagoya Municipal
High School
Tokyo Local Council of Trade
UnionsAichi Union Seibonoie BranchJapanese Trade Union
Confederation

2010
99

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsFederation of Korean Trade Unions
Teacher’s Union Nagoya Municipal
High School
Netherlands Trade Union
Confederation

2011
100

Wartime sexual slavery(so-called“comfort women”)
Industrial slavery

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
The Korean Confederation of Trade
Unions
The issues of the Industrial
Federation of Korean Trade Unions
Training and TechnicalInternational Trade Union
Wartime industrial slavery
Internship Programme
Confederation
Sexual slavery (so-called “comfort(“Foreign Trainee”
Japanese Trade Union
women”）
Programme) and human
Confederation
The Industrial Training andtrafficking raised for the first
National Federation of Construction
Technical Internship ProgrammetimeEngineering Workers’ Unions of(“Foreign Trainee” Programme)
Forced labor: domestic trials
Japan
Trafficking in persons
Comfort women: UN, local
Teacher’s Union Nagoya Municipal
assembly report; domestic trials
High School
Netherlands Trade Union
Confederation
Labor Union of Migrant Workers

2012
101

Forced labor: domestic trials
Comfort women: UN, foreign
resolutions; domestic local
assembly report

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsFederation of Korean Trade Unions
National Confederation of Trade
UnionsLabor Union of Migrant Workers

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A4 1P（210mm × 297mm )

2013
102

2014
103

All Japan Shipbuilding andWartime industrial forced labour
Engineering Union
Sexual slavery (so-called
Comfort women: AWF, 2011
The Korean Confederation of Trade“comfort women”）
Korean Constitutional Court
UnionsThe Industrial Training anddecision; UN, local council report
Federation of Korean Trade Unions
Technical Internship Programme
Forced labor: 2012 Korean
National Confederation of Trade
Supreme Court decision(“Foreign Trainee” Programme)
UnionsTrafficking
inpersons
Labor Union of Migrant Workers

Labor Union of Migrant Workers

2015
104

All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
Labor Union of Migrant Workers

2016
105

Japanese Trade Union
Confederation
All Japan Shipbuilding andEngineering Union
Labor Union of Migrant Workers

2017
106

Victims of wartime sexual slavery
or industrial forced labour
The Industrial Training andTechnical Internship Programme(“Foreign Trainee” Programme)

Forced labor: 2012 Korea
Supreme Court decision
Comfort women: UN

The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsFederation of Korean Trade Unions
Labor Union of Migrant Workers

2018
107

Labor Union of Migrant Workers

2019
108

Japanese government denies
The Korean Confederation of Trade
The Industrial Training andforced mobilization of comfort
UnionsTechnical Internship Programme
women
Federation of Korean Trade Unions(“Foreign Trainee” Programme)
Comfort women: 2015 JapanJapanese Trade Union
Comfort women
Korea agreement; South Korean
Confederation
court case

2020
109

The Korean Confederation of Trade
UnionsFederation of Korean Trade Unions

2022
110

Labor Union of Migrant Workers＜ Supplementary Information on Workers’ Organizations◆ Korean Workers’ Organizations
・The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)
19 industrial unions (including industrial organizations + Hyundai Group Councilof Trade Unions, Daewoo Group Council of Trade Unions);968,000 members (2018).
・Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU)
26 industrial organizations (5 industrial unions, 21 industrial organizations) as of
September 2014; 933.000 members (2018).
◆ Japan Trade Union Confederation - Takes the position that the issue of comfort women and forced labor are notissues that should be discussed by the Committee.
◆ Netherlands Trade Union Confederation- Opinion on the issue of comfort women.
◆ Labor Union of Migrant Workers - Opinion on the “Foreign Trainee Program”.

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