The Japanese Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday lawsuits from three Chinese victims of the Pingdingshan Tragedy, while acknowledging the existence of the bloodshed at the same time, Kyodo News reported.

The Tokyo District Court and the Tokyo High Court both recognized the bloody facts but turned down the compensation claims respectively in 2002 and 2005, citing the Japanese government's immunity from responsibility for damage inflicted before the enactment of the State Compensation Law.

The three plaintiffs, 83-year-old Yang Baoshan, 77-year-old Fang Surong, and late Mo Desheng, all in their childhood when the massacre took place, had been charging the Japanese government of killing their family members and seeking 20 million yen (182,000 US dollars) each in compensation.

The Pingdingshan Tragedy refers to the massacre of more than 3, 000 innocent people, including elders, women and children, at the Pingdingshan Village of Fushun city, northeast China's Liaoning Province, by invading Japanese soldiers on September 16, 1932.

Japanese soldiers burnt bodies of the victims and blew up a hill to bury the remnants, trying to cover up their crimes.

Source: Xinhua