The Tokyo District Court on Thursday rejected reimbursement and compensation demands by 17 Hong Kong residents who had been forced during World War II to exchange their money for Japanese military currency, which became worthless when the war ended.
Although the court recognized that Hong Kong residents were forced to exchange Hong Kong dollars for war coupons, it said the government is not legally obliged to honor them since the Finance Ministry declared in September 1945 that the military notes were no longer valid.
The suit is the first wartime damages suit to demand compensation for private property and the only one filed by Hong Kong residents.