200,000 forced as sex slaves
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1374194,00.htmlA Japanese court today rejected a legal bid for compensation and an official apology to be given to four elderly Chinese women who were forced to become sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during the second world war.
Tokyo's high court acknowledged both the trauma suffered by the women and the wartime government's role in sexual slavery, but said that Japan's current government was not responsible for the atrocities committed by wartime rulers.
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The four women, from China's Shanxi province and aged between 77 and 81, filed the original suit in 1995, seeking 20m yen (£98,000) in damages and an apology by officials. They said they had been repeatedly raped by Japanese soldiers posted in China during the war.
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Japan's military shipped thousands of women from Korea, China and other Asian countries to provide sex for Japanese troops during the second world war. Historians say that around 200,000 women were forced into sexual slavery. It was only during the early 90s that Tokyo acknowledged its military had been involved in setting up and running brothels for its troops. However, high court judge Makoto Nemoto said the current administration did not have to pay compensation because it was not responsible for what past leaders had done.
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