The Supreme Court on Mar. 13 upheld lower court decisions and turned down a damages suit filed by former Japanese soldiers who were held in prison labor camps in Siberia after World War II.
The top court's decision puts an end to the 16-year legal battle against the government by 31 former prisoners, who were subjected to forced labor under severe conditions by the former Soviet Union. They had been demanding government compensation for the labor they performed during their years of captivity.
Presiding Justice Motoo Ono said that even though the prisoners had suffered serious losses because of their captivity, the Constitution does not guarantee them special compensation. The Soviet Union is believed to have captured 575,000 Japanese soldiers at the end of World War II following Japan's surrender. The prisoners, most of whom were seized in northeastern China, were taken to Siberia and Mongolia and subjected to forced labor. Some 53,000 reportedly died in the labor camps.