Lawsuits in Japanese Courts

Various Efforts regarding the Comfort Women issue >Lawsuits in Japanese Courts

Starting on 1991, lawsuits by the former comfort women of Korea, Philippines, and Taiwan to Japanese government were carried out one after another. Although each trial had proceeded to Tokyo High Court and to Supreme Court, all the appeals were finally repelled.

Lawsuit by Korean bereaved families of the pacific war victims (brought in 1991)
Petition 6 December 1991
　High Court Decision 22 July 2003
Supreme Court Decision 29 November 2004
Lawsuit by Philippine former comfort women claiming national compensation (brought in 1993)
Petition 2 April 1993
　High Court Decision 6 January 2002
Supreme Court Decision 25 December 2003
Lawsuit by Taiwanese former comfort women (brought in 1999)
Petition 14 July 1999
High Court Decision 9 February 2004 　
Supreme Court Decision 25 February 2005

Rumor of losing the right to pursue lawsuits

While preceding the AWF projects, the rumor was spread; once former comfort woman accepts AWF's atonement projects, she would lose the right to bring the lawsuit, which many former comfort women believed. As AWF strongly denied the rumor, the groups supporting the comfort women's lawsuits requested to make the recognition of Japanese Government a document and to submit it. As such AWF submitted the document (Full text) to them fulfilling their requirement, AWF made efforts to correct the former comfort women's misunderstanding by publishing it in the local papers.

Besides the above, lawsuits were brought by former comfort women of the Netherland's and of China, as well.