…The plaintiffs in the postwar compensation lawsuits were placed at a decisive disadvantage last April when the Supreme Court ruled that Chinese citizens forcibly taken to Japan to work for Nishimatsu Construction had no right to claim damages because of the terms of the Sino-Japanese joint declaration…The Supreme Court did express the desire that Nishimatsu Construction and other parties work toward a rescue. The plaintiffs' attorneys have interpreted this as a call to the private sector to fulfill its social responsibility by paying appropriate compensation...