Tokyo court rejects claim of 240 Chinese citizens over Japan aggression in 1930s

The top court in Tokyo rejected an appeal by around 240 Chinese citizens, who had demanded an apology and compensation from the Japanese government for the death of relatives during the in the 1930s, TASS reported on Thursday. A lower court in Tokyo had already rejected their claim in 2015. The plaintiffs presented documents showing that their relatives died in 1938 during Japanese aggression in China. Chongqing, then the main stronghold of the Chinese government headed by Chiang Kai-shek, came under massive Japanese airstrikes. The plaintiffs argue that the indiscriminate bombing of a defenseless city was a war crime, violating international law. In addition to apologies, they demanded compensation totaling 1.8 billion yen (around $16 million).