US court refuses to hear lawsuit by WWII sex slaves News
US court refuses to hear lawsuit by WWII sex slaves

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Tuesday rejected a lawsuit [PDF text] against the Japanese government filed by 15 Asian women who claim Japanese soldiers forced them to act as "comfort women" [Wikipedia backgrounder], or sex slaves, during World War II. The court said it is not allowed to hear the case because the Japanese government has "absolute immunity" from defending the suit in the US for legal and political reasons. The lawsuit was filed by women from the Philippines, Taiwan, China, and South Korea, and this is the second time a US court has turned back the case. From Japan, Kyodo News has more.