A group of former Chinese laborers, who were forced to work in central Japan during World War II, appealed on Thursday for compensation from the Japanese government and four major Japanese construction firms, Kyodo News reported.

Three former laborers and family members of four deceased laborers filed the appeal with the Tokyo High Court, demanding for 140 million yen (about 1.90 million U.S. dollars) in damages, after a district court rejected their demands.

The Nagano District Court dismissed the suit last Friday, saying that the state of Japan cannot be held responsible for actions taken before the National Redress Law went into force in 1947, and that the plaintiffs' right to demand compensation no longer exists because more than 20 years had elapsed since the period in question.

According to the ruling, the laborers were taken from China to hydroelectric power plant construction sites in Nagano Prefecture between May and July 1944 and forced to do hard labor until Japan's surrender in August 1945.

The four construction contractors involved are Kajima Corp., Kumagai Gumi Co., Taisei Corp. and Tobishima Corp, according to Kyodo.

During Japan's war of aggression in China, some 40,000 Chinese laborers were forced to leave China and work in over 100 mines, ports and construction sites across Japan. Several thousands died within years,due to hard labor and torture.

Source: Xinhua