Eighteen Japanese separated from their parents in China at the end of World War II filed a lawsuit Friday with the Kyoto District Court to seek compensation from the government for failing to help them come to Japan earlier and to properly support them after they resettled here.
They follow 90 other so-called war orphans who filed a similar suit with the Kyoto court last September. Additional suits have been filed at 11 other district courts nationwide.
The latest plaintiffs range in age from their 50s to 70s. Those actually born in Japan hail from Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka prefectures. The 18 are each seeking 33 million yen in compensation.
"We could not come to Japan for a long time because of the state's negligence, and we have not been able to receive its full support after coming to Japan," they said in the complaint.
The government defines war orphans as Japanese nationals who, at the ages of 13 or younger, were separated from their parents or guardians in China in the chaotic days in August 1945.