[JURIST] The Tokyo District Court denied financial compensation on Tuesday to 40 displaced Japanese nationals in China who were left there as children after the Japanese defeat in World War II. The plaintiffs sued the government of Japan [JURIST news archive] for 1.32 billion yen in damages for failing to quickly assist in their return and assimilation to Japan. In denying the claims, Judge Kenichi Kato stated that the damages were caused by the war, which is not an instance of Japan's government violating the law.

In 1994, the Japanese government passed legislation providing financial assistance to Japanese nationals who returned to Japan. In December, a different Japanese court ordered the government to pay 468 million yen to 61 Japanese [JURIST report] who were displaced as children in China after WWII. In 2005, an Osaka court rejected similar claims [JURIST report] from a different group of plaintiffs, declaring that the government had no obligation to provide compensation. AP has more. Xinhua has additional coverage.