Wartime sex slaves' children file lawsuit
The children of 18 deceased Chinese women who were forced to be sex slaves for the Japanese army recently filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government in a Chinese court, demanding an apology and compensation for crimes committed during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).
The submission of their complaints to the Shanxi Provincial High People's Court from April 8 to 10 marked the first time in 32 years that such a case has been brought in China.
Li Ladi, the 78-year-old daughter of victim Wan Aihua, is one of the plaintiffs. In her civil complaint, she demanded that the Japanese government formally apologize and express remorse for the kidnapping, detention, rape, beating, abuse, torment, injury and disease transmission committed against her mother by the Japanese military during the invasion of China.
Li is seeking 2 million yuan ($276,000) in compensation for physical injury and emotional distress, including damages for the violation of her mother's personal dignity and life.
In 1992, the Chinese forced to be sex slaves by the Japanese army lodged a formal complaint against the Japanese government, demanding an official apology and financial compensation.
The case went to court in Japan in August 1995. With the help of Japanese lawyers, after dozens of hearings between 1995 and 2007, the Japanese court ultimately acknowledged the historical facts but did not offer any apology or financial compensation to the victims.
Zhang Shuangbing, who began investigating the plight of Japanese army sex slaves from China in 1982, prepared the way for the new legal action against the Japanese government, supported by a team of experts and lawyers. Zhang said it was inspired by a related case in South Korea.