[JURIST] The Tokyo High Court [official site in English] on Tuesday rejected demands by Chinese plaintiffs for compensation for a germ attack against them in World War II, but the court did uphold the lower court's declaration that Japan carried out such an attack. The Japanese government has never officially admitted to conducting germ warfare, but the activities of such groups as Unit 731 [Wikipedia backgrounder] are known to historians. A former member of the unit criticized the verdict against the 180 plaintiffs, each seeking about $89,000 and an official apology. Compensation suits for wartime atrocities almost always fail in Japan, with the court making similar rulings in June [JURIST report] and April [JURIST report]. Japan believes that a 1951 peace treaty and diplomatic agreement with China in 1972 has settled the issue. Reuters has more.