Tokyo District Court yesterday rejected compensation claims by nine elderly Taiwanese women who were forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
The women filed the lawsuit against the Japanese government in April, demanding compensation and an official apology from Tokyo. They had sought ?10 million yen (US$80,300) each in damages, according to the Jiji Press agency.
In his ruling, the presiding judge, Hiroshi Terao, said war-time compensation issues had been settled by international and bilateral treaties since the end of the war. "Individual victims cannot ask for damages from the offending nation," he said.
Five of the women who traveled from Taipei to Tokyo to hear the court verdict said they will continue to appeal their case until justice is served.
The five, mostly in their 70s and 80s, broke down in tears after hearing the ruling. They then staged a brief demonstration outside the courtroom, waving red banners and shouting protests.
"I am filled with sorrow and resentment to this day. I cannot lose," the agency quoted one of the plaintiffs, an 81-year-old unidentified woman, as saying.
More than 50 damages suits have been filed against Japan over its wartime sexual enslavement of women from South Korea, Tai-wan, China, the Philippines and Indonesia. Those suits have been rejected by Japanese courts on the grounds that the 20-year period for demanding compensation has expired, or that internationally recognized treaties only provide for reparations to be made to states, not individuals.
Historians say at least 200,000 women were forced to serve as sex slaves in Japanese army brothels during the war, including at least 20,000 Taiwanese.
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