Chinese victims of atrocities committed by Japan's notorious germ warfare research Unit 731 made their closing statement to a Tokyo court on Wednesday, in a civil suit seeking apology and compensation from the government.

"Japan's aggression and invasion conducted during the early 20th century in various Asian nations are clear facts that cannot be erased from history," the plaintiffs' attorney Koken Tsuchiya told the Tokyo District Court. "It is a legal duty of the Japanese government to clarify its past conduct ... and to apologise and to pay compensation to show its apology is sincere," Tsuchiya said in closing remarks in the civil case filed in 1997.

The case has been brought by 180 Chinese plaintiffs who claim they are the victims of Japanese germ warfare attacks during World War II.

They are seeking an apology and damages of 10 million yen (US$85,000) each from Tokyo for atrocities carried out by Unit 731, including "bombing" cities with bubonic plague and other diseases.

Tsuchiya told the court that the plaintiffs felt compelled to file the case to make their voices heard because the Japanese government continued to ignore their claims.

The lawyer urged the court to help them regain their dignity and "to reveal this historical truth through the court process and to appeal to the public."

The court is expected to hand down its ruling by April, Tsuchiya said outside the court.

Unit 731 was set up in Manchuria after the Japanese Kwangtung army formed a puppet state in northeastern China in 1931. With headquarters in Harbin, the 2,000 strong unit operated till the end of World War II.

It is blamed for the deaths of up to 10,000 Chinese and Allied prisoners of war according to estimates in Japanese, Chinese and other studies.

(China Daily December 26, 2001)