Two damages appeals filed by Chinese, one seeking compensation over germ warfare during World War II and the other over the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, were both dismissed by the Japanese Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The final judgments upheld earlier decisions by the Tokyo District Court and the Tokyo High Court, which acknowledged the suffering of the total of 198 plaintiffs or their bereaved family members, however rejected their demand for war reparations from Japan.

The plaintiffs and their bereaved family members had been seeking a total of 1.9 billion yen (about US$16 million) in compensation from the Japanese government.

The top court said the ruling was based on a postwar Japan-China joint statement which "gave up Chinese individuals' judicial right to demand compensation."

In late April, the Japanese Supreme Court dismissed a wartime forced labor damages suits and a "comfort women" damages suit filed both by Chinese victims, citing the same reason.

(Xinhua News agency May 10, 2007)