WWII Chongqing bombing victims to sue Japan

Fifteen victims who suffered in the mass bombings in Chongqing between 1938 and 1944 will demand compensation from the Japanese government in a Chinese court for the first time, according to a press conference held on Monday.

The 15 plaintiffs will file a damages suit against the Japanese government at the Chongqing Municipal Higher People's Court on Sept. 10. It will claim that the Japanese government adopt a right view on the crimes committed by the Japanese invasion army during the WWII as well as make an apology and compensate the victims.

A group of plaintiffs consisting of 188 Chinese victims of Chongqing bombings has sued the Japanese government in the Tokyo District Court on four occasions since 2006. As of March 2012, 24 plaintiffs had stated their cases at the court.

Lin Gang, the lawyer for the case, said the 15 plaintiffs were seeking compensation from the Japanese government and would file the suit according to international practice and the judicial practice of various countries.

Historical records show that the Japanese army indiscriminately bombed Chongqing Municipality and nearby cities including Leshan and Chengdu in the southwestern Sichuan province between February 1938 and December 1944. A study by a Chinese group shows that the bombings killed 23,600 people and wounded 37,700 others.