Japanese comfort women ruling overturned

Historians say as many as 200,000 women were forced into sexual slavery during World War 2

TOKYO, Japan -- A Japanese appeals court overturned an earlier ruling that orders the government to compensate women who were forced to serve as sex slaves during World War II.

A U.S.-based lawyer, Michael Hausfeld, who filed a class-action suit against the Japanese government called the order "a step backward," and added that Japan had yet to understand the human rights issues involved.

"The court's decision is inconsistent with the current thinking and decisions that have been made in international human rights law," he said.

Hausfeld's suit was filed in behalf of women from South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines, who claim they were forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers.

In his case, which was filed in U.S. courts, Hausfeld wants to hold Japan accountable internationally for its alleged actions against the thousands of women who it conscripted as "comfort women".

A landmark decision overturned

The 1998 ruling that was overturned on Thursday was the first in Japan to require the government to compensate South Korean women for being forced into sexual slavery.

Both sides had appealed that ruling. The plaintiffs because they thought the compensation was too small, and the government because they refused to pay.

In deciding in favor of the government, the Hiroshima High Court said abducting women to use them as forced laborers and sex slaves was not a serious consitutional violation.

Tokyo has admitted that its wartime army had set up brothels, and forced thousands of Koreans, Filipinos, Dutch and Chinese to serve as prostitutes, but it has refused to compensate these victims.

Historians say as many as 200,000 women were forced into sexual slavery during World War II.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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Japanese Government Department
Japan Cabinet Office
1998 Japan News Archive
Supreme Court of Japan

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