Reiwa 4 (Wa) No. 508 Damages Claim Case

In 2025, the Tokyo District Court adjudicated Case No. Reiwa 4 (Wa) 508, a damages lawsuit filed in 2022 by anonymous Korean plaintiffs. The plaintiffs, survivors of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule, sought compensation from the Japanese government for unpaid wages and human rights abuses. They argued that Japan bore legal responsibility under international law. The court acknowledged the historical suffering but ruled that the state was shielded by sovereign immunity under Japanese law, and that any individual claims were extinguished by the 1965 Claims Agreement between Japan and South Korea. The decision dismissed all demands for compensation, continuing a long pattern of similar rejections in Japanese courts.

The Tokyo District Court dismissed the claims in their entirety, holding that Japan is immune from jurisdiction and that the plaintiffs' individual rights were waived under the 1965 Agreement.

Whether the Japanese government can invoke state immunity to avoid liability for colonial-era forced labor; whether individual victims' rights to claim compensation survived the 1965 bilateral treaty.

The verdict further strained Japan-South Korea diplomatic relations, drawing condemnation from Korean civic groups and the South Korean government. Human rights organizations criticized the ruling as a denial of justice for elderly victims, fueling the ongoing global debate on colonial redress and the limits of sovereign immunity.