The Tokyo District Court held North Korea responsible for human rights abuses against four people lured to the North under a 1959–1984 repatriation program and ordered ¥22 million (about $143,000) in compensation for each survivor, totaling ¥88 million. The court found plaintiffs endured decades of restricted freedom, forced assignments and food shortages after being promised health care, education and jobs. Lawyers caution that enforcing the judgment will be difficult, and rights groups have urged the Japanese government to press for accountability and help other victims.
Tokyo Court Finds North Korea Liable — Orders ¥22 Million Each for Deceptive Repatriation Survivors
Plaintiffs, their lawyers and supporters gather outside the Tokyo District Court after winning its decision ordering North Korea to pay damages over its decades-long human rights violations after luring them to move to the North by Pyongyang's false promises of living in "paradise on Earth," on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A Tokyo court on Monday found North Korea responsible for human rights abuses against four people who were enticed to the North decades ago with promises of a "paradise on Earth," and ordered Pyongyang to pay each survivor ¥22 million (about $143,000). The plaintiffs and their supporters hailed the decision as a landmark judicial acknowledgment of the harms caused by the North's repatriation campaign.
Court Findings and Ruling
The Tokyo District Court concluded that the plaintiffs — both ethnic Koreans and Japanese nationals — were lured to North Korea between 1959 and 1984 with false promises of free healthcare, education, jobs and other social benefits. Judge Taiichi Kamino said the plaintiffs were then subjected to decades of harsh conditions, deprived of freedom of movement, forced into assigned jobs and schools, and frequently suffered food shortages and severe cold. "It's not an overstatement to say most of their lives were ruined by North Korea," the judge said, ordering total damages of ¥88 million (about $572,000) to the four plaintiffs.
Long Legal Battle
Plaintiffs, including Eiko Kawasaki, left, and Hiroko Saito, talk to reporters inside the Tokyo District Court after its decision to order North Korea to pay damages to its human rights violations after luring them to move to the North by Pyongyang's false promises of living in "paradise on Earth," on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The suit began in 2018 when five people sued in Tokyo seeking ¥100 million each for what they described as "illegal solicitation and detainment." Two original plaintiffs later died; one of those cases was continued by the deceased plaintiff's son, leaving four claimants in the current decision. A 2022 district-court ruling acknowledged the deceptive recruitment by North Korea and the pro-North organization Chongryon but denied compensation on jurisdictional and statute-of-limitations grounds. On appeal, the Tokyo High Court in 2023 found that North Korea had violated the plaintiffs' fundamental rights and that Japanese courts had jurisdiction, sending the case back to reassess damages.
Enforcement Challenges
Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic relations, and North Korea did not participate in the lawsuit or send representatives to court. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs warned that collecting the awarded compensation will be difficult; they noted seizing any identifiable North Korean assets in Japan as a possible route, though practical and legal hurdles remain.
Voices of Survivors and Advocates
FILE - Eiko Kawasaki, a Korean born in Japan, speaks during an interview in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama, file)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
One plaintiff, 83-year-old Eiko Kawasaki — a second-generation Korean born in Kyoto — left Japan for North Korea in 1960 after repeated recruitment drives by Chongryon. She said she realized she had been deceived on arrival, seeing gaunt people and dilapidated facilities, and remained unable to leave for 43 years before escaping via China in 2003. Kawasaki called the ruling "just a start," urging the Japanese government to help victims still trapped in the North and to pursue accountability from organizations involved in recruitment.
"The ruling is important because it formally recognizes the human rights violations," said Kenji Fukuda, the plaintiffs' lawyer. "But the ruling is just a piece of paper — obtaining compensation will be a challenge."
Wider Context
North Korea ran the overseas resettlement program from 1959 to 1984 to recruit laborers and residents; more than 93,000 ethnic Koreans from Japan, along with some Japanese spouses and relatives, relocated under the program. Support groups estimate roughly 150 people have since returned to Japan. Human Rights Watch and other advocates have urged the Japanese government to press for accountability and assistance for remaining victims and their families.
What Comes Next?
With no diplomatic channel to Pyongyang and limited visible North Korean assets in Japan, activists and lawyers say the ruling's practical impact will depend on creative legal steps and diplomatic pressure. For survivors and their families, the court decision represents an official acknowledgment that their expectations of a promised "paradise" were built on deception and led to profound, long-term suffering.
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