Japan court refuses compensation in Nanjing massacre case amid China row

AFP (Yahoo) ^ | 4/19/2005 | AFP

[pganini]

TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese court refused compensation for Chinese victims of some of imperial Japan's most notorious atrocities including the Nanjing massacre amid a heated row between Tokyo and Beijing over memories of the occupation.

The 10 survivors or relatives of victims from the Nanjing massacre, of Japan's Unit 731 which conducted germ experiments on humans, and of Japanese bombings had sought an apology and compensation totalling 100 million yen (930,000 dollars).

But consistent with a long line of Japanese rulings and official statements, the Tokyo High Court said the government compensated states, not individuals, for past wrongdoing.

"Under international law, individual war victims do not have a right to directly seek compensation from a warring nation," presiding judge Masahito Monguchi said. "Under civil law, the country does not bear responsibility either."

While the ruling was no surprise, it came amid one of the most bitter feuds between Japan and China since they established diplomatic relations in 1972, with three weekends of major protests in China accusing Japan of not atoning for its bloody 1931-1945 occupation.

Sitting on a wheelchair outside the courtroom, Jing Lanzhi, 83, who said her husband was killed by Unit 731, said she felt "strong resentment" after the verdict.

"I want compensation. I will continue this fight," said Jing, who lives in Harbin in northeast China.

Speaking beside her, Yoshio Shinozuka, who used to work in Unit 731 and became an advocate for his victims, said he "cannot find any words" to tell those who suffered his forces' "human experiments in mass murder."

"I find this so pitiful," Shinozuka, who is now 81, said of the verdict.

"I was so frustrated I was almost crying. Politics cannot take place without settling the past," he said.

Takeshi Hozumi, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, planned an appeal to the Supreme Court, saying Tuesday's ruling "cannot help but ignite anger."

China for the past three weekends has seen some of its biggest demonstrations in years with thousands taking to the streets, pelting Japanese diplomatic missions with bottles and cans and trashing Japanese businesses.

Japan this month enraged China and South Korea by approving a textbook that downplays atrocities such as the Nanjing massacre -- a week-long orgy of murder, rape and destruction by Japanese troops in the occupied city.

China says some 300,000 civilians were butchered in the massacre. US-led trials of Japanese war criminals documented 140,000 victims. The nationalist textbook only says that "many" Chinese died in the "incident."

In a bid to keep memories of the occupation alive, state media said Tuesday that China may seek World Heritage status for the site in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang where Unit 731 carried out biological experiments on humans.

China has refused to apologize for the damage in the demonstrations and told visiting Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura this week that the real issue was Japan's alleged whitewashing of its occupation including the approval of the textbook.

Chinese State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan told Machimura that the heart of problem was visits by officials including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo.

Koizumi on Tuesday defended his annual visits to the Shinto sanctuary , which honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including seven leaders hanged for war crimes.

"I have been visiting in order to pledge not to have war and to mourn the war dead," Koizumi told reporters.

"Respective countries have respective histories and traditions and have different opinions," Koizumi said. "It is necessary to deepen mutual understanding."

Japan points out that Chinese textbooks are hardly balanced, vilifying Japan while not mentioning dark chapters in modern Chinese history.

[mad puppy]

"The 10 survivors or relatives of victims from the Nanjing massacre, of Japan's Unit 731 which conducted germ experiments on humans, and of Japanese bombings had sought an apology and compensation totalling 100 million yen (930,000 dollars). "

Strikes me as the bargain of the (previous) century. Japan should acknowledge what happened.