The Hiroshima High Court on Thursday overturned the sole ruling by a Japanese court ordering the government to compensate South Korean women forced to provide sex for Imperial Japanese Army soldiers during World War II.
The ruling overturned a Yamaguchi District Court ruling that ordered the government on April 27, 1998, to pay 900,000 yen in damages to three of the 10 for their wartime suffering.
The plaintiffs appealed the ruling as the amount of compensation was far below what they are seeking. The government's side also appealed.
The 1998 ruling was the only one to have ordered compensation in the approximately 10 similar suits being heard in Japan, according to the women's lawyers.
The three former sex slaves and seven forced laborers had sought a total of 396 million yen in damages from the Japanese government.
They were also demanding a public apology for their physical and mental suffering during the war.
The suit was originally filed by four South Koreans in December 1992 seeking 286 million yen. The six others later joined them. One of the 10 has already died.
The Yamaguchi court had accused the Japanese government of failing in its duty to take legislative measures to provide redress for the women.In the appeals proceedings at the Hiroshima court, the state argued that the Yamaguchi court deviated from its jurisdiction by infringing on the authority of the Diet.
Since the 1998 court ruling, some Diet members have explored the possibility of legislation to compensate the women. The government maintains issues concerning war-related compensation have been settled through government treaties signed after World War II.