Forced labor uprising in Japan commemorated in north China&Tianjin

摘要：Doves fly past a statue at a memorial park commemorating the Hanaoka uprising, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Sept. 18, 20

Doves fly past a statue at a memorial park commemorating the Hanaoka uprising, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Sept. 18, 2025. [Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua]

TIANJIN, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 150 Chinese and Japanese people gathered in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of a World War II uprising by Chinese forced laborers in Japan.

Forced labor was one of the serious crimes committed by Japanese militarism against the Chinese people. During World War II, around 40,000 Chinese were taken to Japan and forced to work at 135 sites.

At the Hanaoka mine in northeast Japan, a total of 986 Chinese were enslaved by Japanese soldiers and sent to a labor camp. On June 30, 1945, the Chinese laborers staged an uprising, which was later crushed by more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers and police.

Among them, 419 lost their lives due to malnutrition, illness, torture, outright murder, or crackdown on the uprising, during which they fought for their dignity and freedom.

"The Hanaoka uprising was a significant act of resistance in Japan during China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, marking a glorious chapter in the history of the World Anti-Fascist War," said Zhang Enlong, grandson of one of the organizers of the uprising.

Hattori Ryoichi, secretary-general of Japan's Social Democratic Party, conveyed a message from the party head Fukushima Mizuho at the commemoration: "We must face this history with sincerity, and solemnly declare our determination never again to allow aggression and war, forced labor and abuse to be repeated."

Tanaka Hiroshi, professor emeritus at Hitotsubashi University, noted that Japan's recognition of its invasion of China has been "too slow, too late, and far from thorough."

Although having acknowledged in rulings that the Japanese government was fully involved in the forced conscription of laborers, Japanese courts nonetheless dismissed the lawsuits filed by Chinese laborers and their families seeking a formal apology to all victims and financial compensation.

Lin Boyao, an overseas Chinese in Japan, said people should remember those who stood up to defend national and human dignity, as well as the martyrs who bravely sacrificed their lives for the independence and liberation of the Chinese nation.

A man visits a memorial hall for martyrs and Chinese forced laborers in Japan, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Sept. 18, 2025. [Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua]

People stand in silent tribute at a memorial park commemorating the Hanaoka uprising, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Sept. 18, 2025. [Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua]

A relative of a Chinese forced laborer in Japan sheds tears at a memorial hall for martyrs and forced laborers in Japan, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Sept. 18, 2025. [Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua]

People visit a memorial hall for martyrs and Chinese forced laborers in Japan, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Sept. 18, 2025. [Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua]

People bow and lay wreaths at a memorial park commemorating the Hanaoka uprising, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Sept. 18, 2025. [Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua]