November 13, 2024
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Director, Hiroshima Works
Request Letter
We call for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to withdraw from the joint development of the next-generation fighter jet and from exporting Patriot missiles, and to comply with the ruling of the South Korean Supreme Court!
We have received no response regarding the request letter delivered to your company on July 18 of this year. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in its published “Group Human Rights Policy,” states, “5. Dialogue and Consultation – As a response to potential or actual adverse impacts on human rights, we will utilize independent external expertise on human rights and conduct dialogue and consultation with relevant stakeholders.” As your company received weapon production orders amounting to a total of 1.8871 trillion yen in FY2023 due to the doubling of government military expenditures (according to “Company Quarterly Report,” September 4), taxpayers are direct stakeholders. We request that you do not disregard the following points raised by us as taxpayers and that you conduct “dialogue and consultation” with us and respond sincerely.
Since October last year, Israel has continued its attacks, primarily on the Gaza Strip in Palestine. According to the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health, as of October 4, there have been 41,788 fatalities and 96,794 injured, with a significantly higher number of injured and a substantial number of missing persons believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings. The international community has issued multiple provisional measures through the ICJ (International Court of Justice): on January 26 and March 28 calling for the prevention of genocide, on May 24 ordering a halt to military operations in Rafah, and on September 18, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution urging Israel to withdraw from illegally occupied territories within one year. In defiance of this international sentiment, Israel enacted the “UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) Activity Prohibition Law” on October 28, effectively banning UN relief efforts in the occupied territories and attempting to realize “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians, while further expanding its attacks to Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and beyond.
As Japan’s largest defense company, your company is collaborating on the next-generation fighter jet development with BAE Systems of the UK and Leonardo S.p.A of Italy—companies directly complicit in Israel’s Gaza atrocities through the supply of F-35 fighter jet parts. Furthermore, your company manufacctures, under a licence obtained from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, the Patriot surface-to-air missile and plans to re-export it to the U.S. This action indirectly supports U.S. military aid to Ukraine by replenishing U.S. weapon stocks affected by ongoing supply to Ukraine and Israel. Consequently, it implicates your company in perpetuating the prolonged Ukraine war and the mounting civilian toll.
War represents the ultimate destruction of human rights, and the corporate activities and stance outlined above starkly contradict your own “Human Rights Policy.” Your company’s approach is further exposed by its refusal to address claims for reparations filed by former Korean forced laborers and their families, who were subjected to harsh conditions during the Asia-Pacific War. Although the South Korean Supreme Court has issued consecutive final rulings since 2018, ordering compensation, your company aligns with the government’s position that the 1965 Japan-Korea Claims Agreement has resolved all issues and continues to deny its corporate responsibility.
We demand that you convey the following four requests to your Tokyo headquarters and provide a written response:
Requests:
1) Cease the joint development of next-generation fighter jets with BAE Systems (UK) and Leonardo S.p.A (Italy), which directly support Israel’s Gaza atrocities through F-35 fighter jet parts.
2) Stop the re-export of Patriot missiles to the United States, as it indirectly supplies offensive weapons to Ukraine.
3) Comply with the South Korean Supreme Court’s rulings since 2018 and compensate former Korean forced laborers and their families who were subjected to forced labor by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries during the Asia-Pacific War.
4) Inform headquarters of these requests and provide your company’s position in writing to the email address below within two weeks.