On Aug. 24, 1945, shortly after Japan's surrender in World War II, a Japanese naval transport ship carrying more than 3,700 Koreans and their family members back home exploded and sank in Kyoto's Maizuru Port, killing 524 people. On Thursday, the Kyoto District Court ruled that the government had failed to take safety precautions, and ordered it to pay 45 million yen to 15 South Korean survivors.
This is the latest in a series of rulings ordering the government or private companies to pay compensation for losses suffered by non-Japanese war victims. It is part of the nation's continuing but often slow efforts to atone for its wartime sins. The government should take the ruling seriously and promptly map out compensatory measures.
Many foreigners who were forcibly brought to Japan during the war for forced labor and other purposes -- Koreans, Taiwanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Britons, Netherlanders -- have filed suits demanding redress. It is only the third time, however, that government payment has been ordered. The first time was in 1998, when the Yamaguchi District Court ruled in favor of former South Korean "comfort women" who had been forced to work at military brothels. The ruling said the Diet had neglected to legislate a relief measure.