Survivors of the numerous U.S. air raids on Tokyo in 1945 sued the central government for compensation Monday, demanding an apology and a combined ¥220 million in reparations for its failure to assist the wounded.
The 20 plaintiffs will join 112 people who filed a similar lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court last March.
The combined group will demand a total of ¥1.4 billion in compensation on grounds that the government ignored its duty to help civilians, but rewarded former soldiers and their families with military pensions, thus violating Article 14 of the Constitution, which states that all people are equal under the law.