The British government has appealed to Irish residents entitled to compensation as former prisoners of war in Japan to make themselves known.
The appeal extends to widows of those who would have been entitled to the £10,000 sterling payment, agreed in November after decades of lobbying by ex-servicemen's groups.
The payment applies to members of the British army or navy who were imprisoned by the Japanese during the second World War, and to UK nationals who were interned as civilians during the same period.
It also applies to all former military personnel who were paid £76 each in compensation under the 1951 San Francisco Treaty of Peace with Japan.
The decision by the British government to make the single ex gratia payment ended a long campaign for increased compensation headed by the Royal British Legion.
More than 50,000 British troops and civilians were captured by the Japanese in Singapore in 1942, and about a quarter died in captivity.
After the 1951 treaty, survivors demanded negotiations on compensation be reopened with Japan, but the British government was advised that this was not legally possible. The issue continued to bedevil relations between Britain and Japan until recent times.
A 1998 visit by Emperor Akihito featured protests from war veterans, who turned their backs on him during a procession in London.
Constitutionally barred from political comment, including apologies for past wrongs, the emperor nevertheless said during the visit that he could "never forget" the suffering endured by so many.
The campaign for compensation was renewed in 1999, following a decision by Canada to pay its former prisoners of war about £10,000 sterling each. After discussions with the RBL, the British government decided to make the payment itself rather than pursue the issue with Japan.
The defence ministry estimated that the payment was due to some 16,700 people, including 4,500 widows. A lawyer for the campaigners said the potential applicants were dying at a rate of more than one a day.
