The Japanese Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by the author and publisher of a book on the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, finalizing a lower court ruling ordering them to pay a combined 4 million yen (44,500 U.S. dollars) in damages to a Chinese woman.

The top court's decision in the libel suit brought by Xia Shuqin, 79, against Asia University rightist scholar Shudo Higashinakano and publisher Tendensha, affirmed the book, entitled "Complete Investigation into the Nanjing Massacre", defamed Xia by giving readers the impression that she was not a witness to the mass murder during World War II.

Xia had demanded a combined compensation of 15 million yen (167,000 dollars) from Higashinakano and Tendensha. The Tokyo District Court ordered the defendants in November 2007 to pay 4 million yen (44,500 dollars) and the Tokyo High Court upheld the lower court's decision in May 2008.

The libel suit was brought to the Supreme Court after the defendants refused to accept the Tokyo High Court's ruling.

Xia, whose family was slaughtered during the Nanjing Massacre, was featured in a documentary shot by American John Magee.

The book, published by Tendensha in 1998, was translated into English and Chinese and has sold thousands of copies. It claimed Xia was not the girl in the documentary.

Japanese invading troops occupied Nanjing in December 1937 and then launched a six-week-long massacre. Historical records show that more than 300,000 Chinese people, not only disarmed soldiers but also civilians, were killed.

Magee, an Episcopal pastor, was one of the 22 Westerners in charge of the Nanjing International Safety Zone created after the Japanese army captured Nanjing.

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2009)