Japanese war orphans to accept aid proposal settling lawsuits against government

Thousands of Japanese who were abandoned in China following Tokyo's defeat in World War II will receive more aid from the government after dropping their compensation lawsuits, an official said Monday.

Top government spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki welcomed the plaintiffs' decision to accept the proposal crafted by the ruling coalition.

"Once the aid package is finalized, we are fully prepared to carry it out so that they will feel truly glad about having returned to Japan," Shiozaki told reporters Monday.

Thousands of Japanese children were left behind in China by their fleeing parents as former Soviet troops closed in at the end of the war in 1945. Many were adopted by Chinese and were too young to remember their Japanese names or their biological parents.

About 6,300 people returned to Japan after Tokyo normalized ties with Beijing in 1972, including 2,500 war orphans.

Approximately 2,200 plaintiffs participating in lawsuits at 15 locations around Japan agreed to accept the proposal at a meeting in Tokyo on Sunday, according to media reports.

They had accused the government of failing to adequately support them when they returned to Japan, saying many of them are now elderly and ill, and that they struggle to survive because they can't speak fluent Japanese.

Under the proposal, which was approved by the ruling bloc's project team Monday, the orphans will receive a monthly pension payment of $535, up from the $178 they receive at present, said Health Ministry official Hisafumi Kitahara.

They will also receive a special subsidy of up to $648 per month in place of welfare benefits, and the government will help cover their medical, nursing care and housing costs, he said.

In return, the plaintiffs will drop their lawsuits against the government, media reports said.

The proposal will be officially accepted Monday afternoon, said Yukihiko Yasuhara, a member of the plaintiffs' legal team.

Shiozaki said the Health Ministry would make a formal announcement on the package later.