Tokyo court rejects Chinese appeal
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- A Japanese court has turned down a lawsuit filed by the Chinese survivors of Japanese atrocities during World War II, a court official has told CNN.
The appeal for compensation by the 10 plaintiffs was in connection with the Nanjing massacre and other attacks by Japanese military forces, as well as the Unit 731 medical experiments -- all of which happened in China.
The Ninjing massacre took place in China during a six-week period from December 1937 to January 1938 with as many as 300,000 people being killed after the Japanese Army captured the city of Nanjing.
The Japanese Imperial Army's Unit 731, based in Harbin in northeastern China, developed biological weapons for use on Chinese civilians and conducted experiments on live prisoners.
Tuesday's ruling is in line with similar court decisions, according to Reuters reports, but it comes as ties between the two Asian heavyweights have plumbed new depths.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the leaders of China and Japan to get together later this week in Jakarta to resolve a spat that has plunged relations to their lowest ebb in 30 years.(Full story)
CNN Producer Yoko Wakatsuki contributed to this report.
