Presiding Judge Yoshinori Ishikawa said, "Individuals do not qualify to directly request the victimizer country to fulfill its international responsibilities."

He added that the plaintiffs therefore "had no reason to demand damage compensation."

The high court's decision upheld an Oct. 15, 2002, ruling by the Tokyo District Court.

The women, all in their 70s and 80s, first filed the suit in July 1999. Two of the nine original plaintiffs have since died.

Historians say at least 200,000 young women form Korea, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Indonesia were forced to serve as sex slaves or "comfort women" in Japanese Army brothels.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 14, 2004
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