One year after media reports that Aso Mining used 300 Allied prisoners of war for forced labor in 1945, Foreign Minister Taro Aso is refusing to confirm that POWs dug coal for his family's firm—and even challenging reporters to produce evidence...Founded in 1872, the family firm was known as Aso Cement when Taro Aso headed it in the 1970s. It is called Aso Group today and is run by Aso's younger brother.