Disappointed but defiant, Chinese who claim they were victims of
Japanese biological warfare said yesterday they are appealing a
Tokyo court's ruling denying them compensation.
The plaintiffs will also seek more international publicity and may
coordinate with other groups seeking compensation for World War II
Japanese army abuses, said Wang Xuan, a plaintiffs'
representative.
"If the government truly represents Japan, then they should own up
to their responsibility and compensate victims," Wang said.
The Tokyo court ruled on August 27 that under international law
foreign citizens cannot seek compensation directly from the
Japanese government. As in similar cases earlier, the court said
compensation issues had already been settled under postwar treaties
between Japan and other nations.
However, the court did acknowledge that Japan used biological
weapons against Chinese before and during World War II - the first
time a Japanese court has done so. The court's ruling included 10
pages acknowledging testimony of biological warfare incidents by
Japanese veterans and Chinese victims.
Wang said she was heartened by that admission.
The ruling was still a bitter disappointment for many of the
plaintiffs who were injured or lost relatives to germ attacks on
civilians in eastern and central China.
(Eastday .com September 3,
2002)