The Tokyo High Court on Thursday rejected a damages lawsuit filed against the government by three war-displaced Japanese women seeking compensation for delayed resettlement from China and poor state support afterward.
The high court had never before ruled on a damages suit filed by Japanese war orphans resettled in Japan from China decades after being left behind at the end of the war.
Noriko Suzuki, 78, Takeko Fujii, 75, and Rumiko Nishida, 73, demanded 20 million yen each from the government for not fulfilling its duty to assist in promptly bringing them back to Japan from China. They also claimed the government had failed to provide sufficient support here. Presiding Judge Hidetoshi Somiya said the state had taken steps to enable war orphans to resettle in Japan and provide support for them here.