On March 3, Japan's top court rejected an appeal for Chinese 'comfort women'. Japan forced Chinese women to serve as sex slaves, known as "comfort women," during World War II. Eight Chinese women sued the Japanese government for a public apology and compensation for their suffering. The Chinese women appealed for compensation from the Japanese government as invalid, upholding the verdict in the first and second trials. The first trial said that the Chinese women "had overstepped the time limit of rights of compensation, even if they had one" while the second trial insisted "China gave up any individual's rights for compensation in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, which meant the women lost these rights."
Qin Gang, a spokesman for Chinese Foreign Ministry said, "Japan committed one of the most heinous crimes against humanity. Japan has the moral responsibility to properly resolve the issue quickly and give justice to the victims."