Japan awards WWII damages

Japan says most war-time claims have already been settled

A Japanese court has awarded damages to five Chinese nationals who were forced to work in Japan during World War II.

The unexpected ruling by the Hiroshima High Court overturned an earlier decision, which ruled that too much time had passed to award compensation.

Nishimatsu Construction must now pay 27.5m yen ($255,000) in damages.

Dozens of compensation suits have been filed against Japan in relation to alleged war offences, but most of them have been rejected by Japanese courts.

The five plaintiffs - two of whom have since died and are being represented by relatives - were brought to Japan in July 1944, and forced to work for a power plant construction site owned by Nishimatsu.

They were barely fed, and worked in excess of 12 hours a day without pay or medical treatment, according to statements by their supporters.

In July 2002, a lower court acknowledged that the plaintiffs had been forced to work under harsh conditions, but did not award them damages because too much time had elapsed.

This ruling was overturned on Friday, when presiding judge Satoshi Suzuki said Nishimatsu's argument that the statute of limitations had expired "seriously goes against (the course of) justice".

"Forcibly taking people to Japan and making them work is a serious human rights violation, so bringing up the statute of limitations is an abuse of rights," Mr Suzuki was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.

An official at Nishimatsu said the firm would appeal against the decision.

Thousands of Chinese citizens were taken to Japan in the early 1940s, mostly to work in coal mines and ports.

Tens of thousands of others from around Asia were also forced to work without pay.

The Japanese Government has acknowledged that many people suffered as a result of forced labour during the war, but insists that most reparations were settled by treaties in the conflict's aftermath.