Top court denies right of Chinese individuals to seek war reparation

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Chinese individuals have no right to demand war reparations under postwar agreements. The top court's first decision on the rights claim came after the Hiroshima High Court ordered Nishimatsu Construction Co to pay 27.5 million yen to two former Chinese laborers and relatives of three deceased workers who said they were forced to work at a construction site in Hiroshima Prefecture during World War II.

Nishimatsu appealed the 2004 high court ruling, arguing China gave up individual rights to seek war compensation under the 1972 Japan-China Joint-Communique, in which Beijing declared that "it renounces its war reparation from Japan."