The Nagano District Court on Friday threw out a lawsuit filed by a group of wartime laborers from China and their relatives. The laborers were forced to work in severe conditions at a construction site in Nagano Prefecture.
The plaintiffs had demanded that the state and four construction companies -- Kajima Corp., Kumagai Gumi Co., Taisei Corp. and Tobishima Corp. -- pay a combined 140 million yen in compensation to the victims and their survivors.
Presiding Judge Jiro Tsuji acknowledged that the state and companies acted illegally in forcibly bringing the plaintiffs from China and making them work.