TOKYO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese high court on
Friday turned down a damages suit filed by eight Chinese nationals who were
forced to work as laborers at a copper mine in Japan during World War II, Kyodo
News reported.
While upholding a 2007 lower court decision that
rejected the plaintiffs' claims, the Fukuoka High Court's Miyazaki branch
expressed hope that the defendants -- the Japanese government and Mitsubishi
Materials Corp. -- will make efforts to reach a compromise with the plaintiffs
out of court.
Of the eight plaintiffs, six are now deceased. The
two surviving plaintiffs and family members of the six who have died had sought
184 million yen (about 1.88 million U.S. dollars) in damages from the Japanese
government and Mitsubishi Materials, successor to Mitsubishi Mining Co., the
mine operator.
The high court decision followed a Supreme Court
decision in 2007 that Chinese individuals have no right to demand war
compensation from Japan.
Court findings showed that the eight were among 241
Chinese forced to work as laborers under harsh conditions at the Makimine copper
mine in Miyazaki prefecture in southwestern Japan. No wages were paid to the
laborers and 67 died before they could return home to China.
Earlier this month, another lawsuit filed against the
Japanese government and two Japanese companies, Mitsui Mining Co. and Mitsubishi
Materials Corp, by 45 Chinese laborers in Japan during World War II was also
turned down by the Fukuoka High Court.
Tokyo court rejects damages suit filed
by WWII Chinese sex slaves
 |
|
Eighty-three-year-old Chen Jinyu (C in
front), a sex slave for Japanese soldiers in World War Two, is surrounded
by reporters and supporters outside of the Tokyo High Court in Japan,
March 26, 2009. On behalf of all Chinese sex slaves for Japanese soldiers
in World War Two, Chen arrived in Japan to attend the second trial at the
Tokyo High Court on a suit of Chinese sex slaves in Hainan but failed in
the case. (Xinhua/Sun Wei)
Photo Gallery>>> |
TOKYO, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Tokyo High Court on
Thursday dismissed a suit filed by victims from China's Hainan Province seeking
damages and apologies from the Japanese government for forcing them to be
"comfort women" for the Japanese army during World War II.
Presiding Judge Watanabe Hitoshi gave the ruling that
the individual Chinese has no right to demand compensation from Japan as the
right was abandoned under the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique, in which
Beijing "renounced its war reparation from Japan." Full story
Chinese plaintiffs appeal to Japan's
supreme court over compensation for forced labor during
WWII
TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Forty-five Chinese
plaintiffs lodged an appeal Monday to Japan's Supreme Court over compensation
for forced labor during World War II.
The move came 14 days after the Fukuoka High Court
dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Japanese government and two Japanese
companies by the plaintiffs who were forced to work as laborers in Japan during
World War II. Full story
