More than 10,000 people are suing Japan's leading liberal newspaper over stories on Tokyo's system of wartime sex slavery, which they say have stained their reputation as Japanese nationals.

The move is the latest salvo in the battle over Japan's history, which pits an increasingly aggressive revisionist right wing against the mainstream that accepts the country's guilt over World War II atrocities.

The group of plaintiffs, led by Sophia University professor emeritus Shoichi Watanabe, is demanding 10,000 yen ($85) in apparently symbolic compensation each, describing themselves as "Japanese citizens whose honor and credibility were damaged by the false reports made by Asahi Shimbun", according to court documents.