Yang Bang, one of Hainan's eight "comfort women," or sex slaves of the invading Japanese troops during World War II, died in the early hours of Thursday morning in her home town, aged 86.

Her death came after a Japanese court rejected the demands of the eight Chinese women and their relatives on Wednesday afternoon in Tokyo.

The eight women from South China's Hainan Province filed the lawsuit 20 years ago, demanding the Japanese Government apologize and pay them 23 million yen (US$220,000) each in compensation.

But the Tokyo District Court rejected their application in the first instance of its judgement.

Yang did not appear in court; but Chen Yabian, 79, did.

Yang lived in a village of Baoting County where she was bedridden for several years due to ill health, including intestinal cancer, the South Metropolis Daily reported.

She was unaware Chen had been to the Tokyo court seeking justice and was not told the lawsuit had been rejected on Wednesday.

Yang had reportedly declared many times that she would not rest easy in her grave if the lawsuit did not receive a fair outcome.

The number of surviving "comfort women" worldwide has now dwindled significantly, although about 200,000 women were affected in China at the time.

Su Zhiliang, a Shanghai-based historian, said in March 2006 there were only about 48 identified "comfort women" left living on the Chinese mainland.

Moreover, the average age of these women now is over 80, and almost all are living with poverty, loneliness and diseases caused by the troops.

"We must speed up our suing efforts and take better care of them because they are the sample of justice," Su said in a document.

Su, also the director of the China Sex Slave Research Centre, has investigated the plight of the Chinese "comfort women" for nearly 14 years. At least 100 women have related their stories to him and his researchers.

The Japanese troops established 156 "comfort women" centres in Shanghai, according to Su's investigation.

Source: China Daily