Q: According to media reports, the Supreme Court of Japan issued the final verdict on the appeal of eight Chinese "comfort women" on March 3, rejecting their claim for compensation by the Japanese Government and upholding the verdicts in the first and second trials. The first verdict claimed that "the plaintiffs had overstepped the time limit of rights for compensation, even if they had one". The second insisted that "the plaintiffs lost the right to claim compensation since China gave up individual's rights for compensation in the Japan-China Joint Statement". What is China's position?

A: The Sino-Japanese Joint Statement is a serious political document between the two governments. Any unilateral interpretation of the document by the Japanese court is illegal and invalid.

The conscription of "comfort women" was a grave crime committed by the Japanese militarism to the people of the victimized countries including China during WWII. It was also a grave humanitarian crime in human history that lingers to this day, with victims suffering unbearable physical and mental agony. The Japanese side should exert due sense of morality and responsibility and handle this issue properly as soon as possible, thus giving justice to the victims.