The BBC's Juliet Hindell in Tokyo: Bitter disappointment for POWs

Vice-President of the Japanese Labour Camp Survivors Association Sid Tavender said the fight would continue despite the ruling, and an appeal had already been lodged by the plaintiffs' legal team.

"Many of the PoWs were subjected to appalling maltreatment, including torture, starvation and use as forced labour," said the 80-year-old Mr Tavander.

Seven former prisoners from Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, were seeking $22,000 (£13,500) compensation each for the suffering they endured in Japanese PoW camps.

The plaintiffs were representing 20,000 former Allied prisoners of war and civilian detainees or their widows, who were held by Japanese forces as they swept through south-east Asia during 1941 and 1942.

Arthur Titherington: "There is no justice in Japan"

One of the plaintiffs, Arthur Titherington, Secretary of the Japanese Labour Camp Survivors' Association, spat on the doorstep of the Japanese parliament, the Diet.

He told reporters: "There is no justice in this country."

The head of the Australian ex-Prisoners of War Association said they had lost the battle, and were giving up.

"This is just about the death knell of it, now that the court has ruled against it," said Harry Nesbitt.

Verdict saved Japan millions

If it had it been successful, their legal claim, which was begun in January 1995, would have cost the Japanese Government about £290m.

The PoWs' solicitor, Martyn Day: "Time is running out for my clients"

The Japanese Government, which fought the legal challenge, argued that compensation had been settled by the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty, which paid out £76 each for prisoners of war and £49 for civilian detainees.

Giving his verdict, Judge Shigeki Inoue, said under the terms of the 1951 treaty, individuals or groups could not seek compensation from the government.

He said compensation issues must be dealt with on a government-to-government level.