Reparation for War Crimes

Citing expiry of the statute of limitation and immunity of the state, the Japanese Supreme Court upheld an appellate court's decision to dismiss a demand for compensation by a group of Chinese, who were forced to work as labourers during WWII. The judgment brought to an end a case in which the trial court, the Niigata District Court, ruled in favour of the Chinese plaintiffs and became the first Japanese court to acknowledge Japan's responsibility for wartime forced labour.