A court in Japan has rejected a claim by former servicemen for compensation for their imprisonment by the Japanese during the Second World War.

Seven former prisoners from Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand were claiming twenty-thousand dollars each for their treatment at the hands of Japanese troops.

They were suing on behalf of more than twenty-thousand former prisoners, civilian detainees or their widows.

The court in Tokyo also rejected the men's demand for an apology from the Japanese government.

Japan maintains that all claims resulting from the Second World War were settled in 1951.

The veterans say that was agreed between the governments involved, and does not preclude claims by individuals.