Germ Warfare Lawsuit to Be Brought to Japanese CourtA group of Chinese and Japanese people are preparing to bring a lawsuit to a Japanese court, demanding an apology from the Japanese government for germ warfare conducted by its troops in China during their invasion of 1937- 1945, as well as compensation for Chinese victims.The trial, if it opens in a local Japanese court in September this year, will be the 25th since more than 100 Chinese people, many of whom had experienced the brutal war, brought a similar lawsuit four years ago, according to sources close to the group who met in Hangzhou, east China, over the weekend. The meeting was called by the plaintiffs and some Japanese lawyers who will defend the Chinese victims. The previous trials ended without any judgment pronounced. The plaintiffs this time hope that a judgment will be handed down as early as next spring. Some former soldiers of the Japanese army's germ warfare unit and members of a Japan-based organization formed to investigate claims of germ warfare support the plaintiffs. Many of them agreed at the meeting that the claims that Japanese troops used germ weapons in China during World War II have been proved by a great amount of evidence, and people all over the world, especially the Japanese people, should be aware of this. They said the Japanese government should admit historical facts, so that justice can be done and friendly relations between China and Japan maintained. |
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