A woman's fight for justice

An 82-year-old former Chinese "comfort woman" is going to appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in September to pressure the Japanese government to issue an apology to her and other women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.

Wan Aihua is the first woman to use her real name when accusing Japanese occupiers of crimes during the war. However, she lost three earlier lawsuits in Japan since her first appeal in 1992.

During the past 18 years, Wan has been to Japan eight times to attend international hearings and conferences, and spoke of the ordeal and harrowing experiences that she had gone through, as she sought an apology and compensation.

Although the Japanese government acknowledged that Japan's imperial army was involved "directly or indirectly" in sexual slavery, it refused to pay the victims compensation.

Japanese courts had rejected Wan's petition, saying that her right to claim indemnity had expired and China had given up individuals' claims for reparations in the China-Japan Joint Statement.

"What China gave up at that time is state compensation, because that's too much for Japan to pay," said Wan.

"But what I demand is non-governmental compensation. They must repay the debt of blood," she added.


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