While the majority of attention has focused on the legislative action being pursued by the state of California, other states have also begun to address the issue of reconciliation by compensation.
The actions being pursued by different state legislatures represent the growing pressure being taken by many victims in their pursuit to seek restitution for Japan’s wartime actions. Below, we highlight two efforts pursued in Georgia and Rhode Island. If you have information on other states’ efforts, please contact us and we will do our best to update our listings as quickly as possible.
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Georgia General Assembly H.R. 142
The Georgia General Assembly introduced H.R. 142 on January 26, 2001, urging the government of Japan to: (1) acknowledge and issue an apology for war crimes the former Imperial military committed during WWII and (2) pay reparations to the victims of those crimes. Moreover, it requested the U.S. President and Congress to take action to bring about these demands on Tokyo. Resolution 01 H.R. 142/FA was passed and adopted on March 13, 2001.
Rhode Island General Assembly H.6802 and S.2331
On January 17, 2002, H.6802 was introduced in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. A similar bill, S.2331, was introduced in the state Senate on January 29. The bills were intended to provide an opportunity for victims or families of victims of forced/slave labor by firms with proven patterns of slave labor that were allies or sympathizers with the Nazi regime to seek compensation and recover damages for injuries sustained. The bills also set the statute of limitations on these claims to December 31, 2012. Both bills were sent to committee, but neither bill was adopted or passed into law.