A band called One Republic once famously said, “It’s too late to apologize.” This maxim will soon be tested when the representative of a Japanese company apologizes for exploiting POWs 70 years ago.

A top executive from Mitsubishi Materials Corp will personally apologize to a 94 year-old WWII veteran and the relatives of countless others for the forced labor they endured while imprisoned in Japan.

The Japanese government profusely apologized for its conduct to the United States, China and other wrongs nations during WWII. However, the private companies that used POWs for free labor during the war remained tight-lipped for decades. While Mitsubishi was not the only corporation to exploit POWs, it is the first to come forward and offer its regrets.

About 12,000 American prisoners were shipped to 50 work sites to support the Japanese war effort. Alongside POWs from China and South Korea, the prisoners were essentially used as slaves in mines, power plants and factories. About ten percent of POWs died from the poor conditions and back-breaking work.

Mitsubishi Materials Corp’s predecessor company profited off the labor of 900 American POWs, but only two living veterans could be located to accept the apology.