SHENYANG, June 20(Xinhuanet)-- Four Japanese lawyers, who helped Chinese survivors of the Pindingshan Tragedy to appeal for apologyand compensation from Japan, said they would continue to help the massacre survivors win the lawsuit.

Shiroh Kawakami and three other Japanese lawyers are now in Fushun, a city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, where the massacre occurred 73 years ago, to visit Yang Baoshan, a survivor of the massacre, and other people in Fushun to discuss the lawsuit. It was lodged by Chinese massacre survivors to appeal for apology and compensation from the Japanese government.

"We have appealed to the Supreme Court of Japan, and this is the last step of the lawsuit," Shiroh said.

Shiroh and many other Japanese attorneys voluntarily established a suing group for the"Pingdingshan Tragedy" in 1996.

The Pingdingshan Tragedy refers to the massacre of more than 3,000 innocent people at the Pingdingshan Village by invading Japanese soldiers on September 16, 1932. These victims included elders, women and children. Japanese soldiers burnt the bodies of the villagers and blew up a hill to bury the bodies for the purpose of covering up their crimes. Japanese soldiers also burnt more than 800 houses in the village.

Survivors of the massacre lodged a lawsuit, demanding the Japanese government admit the crimes of Japanese troops committed in the Pingdingshan tragedy, apologize and compensate the victims.The district court of Tokyo acknowledged the tragedy was caused by invading Japanese troops but turned down the damage suit in June, 2002.

Three survivors of the massacre appealed to the Tokyo High Court, which rejected their appeal and upheld the lower court ruling at the second instance in May this year, acknowledging thatthe tragedy was caused by intruding Japanese army in Pingdingshan but rejecting the damages suit by the three Chinese survivors.

Shiroh said the Japanese lawyers will, together with the Chinese plaintiffs, do their best to win the lawsuit, demanding for the Japanese government's compensation and building of a cemetery for the tragedy victims.

They will also continue to publicize Japan's sins during the World War II, Shiroh said.

Ooe Kyoko, one of the Japanese lawyers coming to Fushun, said,"More and more people in Japan are coming to know the truth of the Pingdingshan Tragedy, and more and more people are coming to support us. There are more than 3,300 Japanese websites on the Pingdingshan Tragedy".

"The aim of the lawsuit is not only for a verdict by the court, but also for the publicity of the truth among the Japanese people",Ooe said.

Yang Baoshan, 84, a survivor of the Pingdingshan Tragedy, said,"I will carry through to the end. If Japan's Supreme Court can not give a just verdict, I will appeal to the international court." Enditem