Forced labour case voided in Japan

A high court in Japan on Monday denied redress to a group of 15 Chinese men forced to work in Japanese coal mines during World War II in the first ruling amid aseries of lawsuits former Chinese forced laborers have filed in Japan.

The All China Lawyers Association, China Foundation for Human Rights Development and China Society for the Study of the War against Japanese Aggression voiced their strong remonstration against what they called an "irresponsible" ruling.

The Fukuoka High Court rejected the demand for compensation because the statute of limitations expired for both the state and the company, thus overturning the Fukuoka District Court ruling inApril 2002 that ordered Mitsui Mining to pay 10 million yen for each forced worker.

In the Fukuoka High Court suit, the 15 Chinese men, now in their 70s and 80s, demanded 23 million yen each in compensation bepaid by the state and the company, as well as apologies be published in newspapers in the year 2000.