European Parliament OKs sex slave resolution

The European Parliament on Thursday approved by a majority a draft resolution urging Japan to formally apologize to women forced to work as sex slaves by the Japanese military in Asia before and during World War II, following similar motions adopted earlier this year in the Untied States, the Netherlands and Canada.
The parliament, in Strasbourg, France, discussed the motion on the former sex slaves euphemistically called "comfort women" in a plenary sitting Thursday afternoon before putting it to a vote later that day. The text says the Japanese government officially commissioned the acquisition of young women for the sole purpose of sexual servitude to its armed forces and calls it "one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century." It calls on Tokyo "formally to acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical and legal responsibility, in a clear and unequivocal manner, for its Imperial Armed Forces' coercion of young women into sexual slavery...from the 1930s until the end of World War II."

Former Japanese soldier who served in China regrets atrocities

A former Japanese Imperial Army soldier said Monday he regrets atrocities committed by his compatriots during World War II and will continue to spread antiwar messages to Japanese people to prevent a repetition of past mistakes. Kiyoshi Sakakura, 87, who served in the army's 59th Division, made the remarks in an address to over 100 students and members of the public at a forum held at Hong Kong University to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japan's invasion of China.

Sakakura said that while he used to think he and his fellow soldiers were fighting for a war for their emperor, he later realized they were merely invading a neighboring country. Regarding Japanese politicians who have in recent years tried to refute that Nanjing Massacre ever occurred and denied the existence of sex slaves known euphemistically as comfort women, Sakakura said such comments "cannot be forgiven." "We hope Japan will sincerely apologize and improve the Sino-Japanese relationship. I will continue to make public statements so that past mistakes will not repeat themselves," he said.

Canada urges Japan to apologize to WWII sex slaves

Canada's lower house unanimously approved a draft motion Wednesday that urges the Japanese government to make a "formal and sincere apology" to women who were forced by the Japanese military to provide sex for soldiers during World War II.
The text of the motion said the Canadian government should call on the Japanese government "to take full responsibility for the involvement of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the system of forced prostitution, including through a formal and sincere apology expressed in the Diet to all of those who were victims; and to continue to address with those affected in a spirit of reconciliation."
It also said, "Some Japanese public officials have recently expressed a regrettable desire to dilute or rescind the 1993 statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the 'comfort women,' which expressed the (Japanese) Government's sincere apologies and remorse for their ordeal."
The motion, though nonbinding, also said the Canadian government should call on Japan to abandon any statement which devalues the expression of regret from the Kono statement and to clearly and publicly refute any claims that the sexual enslavement and trafficking of the "comfort women" for the Imperial Japanese Army never occurred.
"The Canada-Japan alliance continues to be based on shared vital interests and values in the Asia-Pacific region, including the preservation and promotion of political and economic freedoms, support for human rights and democratic institutions, and the securing of prosperity for the people of both countries and the international community," the text said.
Similar motions were adopted in July by the U.S. House of Representatives and earlier this month by the Netherlands' lower house.
Tokyo had asked Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper not to have such a motion passed, according to the Japanese Embassy in Canada, but Canada's four major parties have already agreed to approve it.
An all-party special hearing was held Tuesday at a lower house plenary session to hear from some former sex slaves, euphemistically called "comfort women" in Japan, from South Korea and the Philippines.
The resolution would include a request that school textbooks in Japan describe the sexual enslavement of young women as a war crime committed by the Japanese military, according to the reports.
Opposition New Democrat MP Olivia Chow, who spearheaded the initiative, said: "For me, this isn't crimes against 200,000 women. It's crimes against humanity and all of the world's citizens have a responsibility to speak out against it."
Hundreds of thousands of women from Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries were kidnapped and forced to work in military brothels during World War II.
Japan has euphemistically referred to them as "comfort women."
While the scale of the practice is still debated in Japan, it remains an irritant between Tokyo and its neighbors.
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reopened the wounds earlier this year by saying there was "no evidence" of the practice.

Efforts to hand down history of wartime sex slavery continue

While references to wartime sex slavery have almost disappeared from textbooks, efforts to hand down its history and to unite with former so-called "comfort women" on a grassroots level are continuing, panelists at a Tokyo symposium said Saturday.

In the symposium, teachers, college students and human rights advocates shared their activities to learn about the history of the wartime atrocities, with some 100 people attending.

"I was really shocked to know through a college seminar that women who were about the same age as I am now were forced to become sex slaves and they have been left without sufficient compensation even now," said Naoko Kotani, a senior at Kobe College.

She visited South Korea last year with classmates to meet with former sex slaves, known euphemistically as comfort women in Japan, who told the students it is necessary for people to keep amicable ties even if the relations of their countries are at odds.

"Since then, I have been requested to tell the experiences of learning about the sex slavery and seeing the victims to high school students," Kotani said. "Some of the students asked me at what college they could learn about the history of the wartime sex slavery."

The symposium was held at the start of an exhibition at the Women's Active Museum in Tokyo, at which panels are displayed explaining how women were kidnapped and forced to serve as sex slaves, and who managed the wartime brothels and for what purposes.

Also exhibited are an example of a condom that the Imperial Japanese Army distributed to its soldiers for use at the wartime brothels and a preventive ointment for sexually transmitted diseases, as well as photos of comfort women and Japanese soldiers lined up in front of a brothel.

The event, named "Exhibition of 'Comfort Women' for Junior High School Students," will continue through May 25 next year.

Another panelist, Mai Murakami, who is involved in group activities in Kyoto to invite former comfort women to Japan, said, "I was once told by one of the former comfort women that people in Japan forget what she told them shortly after listening to her story."

"So I repeatedly attend their lecture meetings and say I do not forget them," Murakami said. "I also visit them in the Philippines and Taiwan."

She also said she sees some aggressive comments posted by people on her group's website, such as, "Is there any evidence for wartime sex slavery?" or "The women are telling lies."

Tomomi Oda, a senior at Yokohama National University, said at the symposium she has also experienced facing biased counterarguments about sex slavery.

"But now I think it may be necessary to talk with those who have a difference historical perspective to find out why they have come to have such thoughts," she said.

From the floor, a social studies teacher at a junior high school in Tokyo said, "It's difficult to take up the issue of comfort women in classes now in Tokyo," suggesting a rise in nationalistic education there. "A teacher would face harsh criticism only by distributing the leaflet of this exhibition at school, but I want to let my students see it somehow."

The participants, meanwhile, showed concern over the advanced age of the former comfort women, with Murakami from Kyoto saying, "I fear many of them will pass away within several years."

"It's our responsibility to hand down what they've told us," Murakami said. Oda shared much the same view, saying, "As a citizen, I'd like to continue seeking ways we can commit to memory their stories and how we should hand them down."

Abe explains his stance on sex slave issue to Pelosi, 10 other U.S. lawmakers

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday expressed regret to U.S. Congressional leaders about misunderstandings over his recent remarks on the Japanese military's wartime sexual exploitation of Asian women, upon arrival in Washington for his first visit to the United States as premier.

Abe's two-day visit, during which he will reaffirm the bilateral alliance with U.S. President George W. Bush in summit talks Friday, came as Congress debates a resolution that calls for Tokyo's apology to the victims. U.S. civic groups placed a full-page newspaper advertisement the same day while about 100 protesters rallied outside the White House.

"I believe my remarks and true intentions were not conveyed accurately, but I as an individual and as prime minister sympathize with the former 'comfort women' for their sufferings and feel sorry for the hardship they were put through," Abe was quoted by Japanese officials as telling House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 10 other U.S. lawmakers.

The Japanese premier visited Capitol Hill for the hourlong meeting first thing upon arrival in Washington, in apparent hopes that an explanation in person will help abate harsh criticisms over his remarks in March that there was no evidence to prove physical coercion by the Japanese military on the "comfort women."

Prior to Abe's arrival, a senior White House official said the matter will not be a major issue during the Abe-Bush summit on Friday as the premier has "done a lot to clear up the misunderstanding" by reiterating he will uphold a 1993 government apology and expressing his personal apology.

Abe and Bush are instead expected to reaffirm at their talks at the president's retreat Camp David on Friday the strengthening of the bilateral security alliance, cooperation in dealing with North Korea, and enhancing beef trade.

"I would like to have a solid and irreplaceable Japan-U.S. alliance as the cornerstone of Japan's security...and build a relationship with President Bush in which we can discuss everything frankly," Abe told reporters at his official residence ahead of his departure from Tokyo earlier Thursday.

Abe added that he wants to confirm U.S. cooperation on Japan's efforts to press North Korea to return all abducted Japanese, an issue of top priority for his administration. Securing U.S. support will help dissipate concerns that Japan will be isolated at the six-nation talks when there is progress on the North's denuclearization.

To show Japan's determination to boost the bilateral alliance and stand by the United States, Abe visited the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, just outside Washington, on Thursday afternoon to see U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also laid wreaths at the Arlington National Cemetery.

In his meeting with Bush on Friday, Abe will explain Japan's decision to extend its troop deployments to support Iraqi reconstruction and his plans to consider easing Japan's self-imposed ban on exercising the right to protect allies under attack.

The wide array of issues to be covered at Friday's summit is also expected to include expediting the realignment of U.S. troops and missile deployment in Japan and boosting cooperation to fight global warming beyond the 2012 Kyoto Protocol time frame.

On the economic front, Abe and Bush are likely to touch on the issue of easing Japanese import restrictions on U.S. beef and discuss how to proceed in light of Washington's agreement Tuesday to accept Japanese inspections of U.S. meatpacking plants.

A U.S. official said the two leaders will also look for ways to coordinate their approaches on the Doha Round of global trade talks and global and bilateral trade liberalization.

Abe, who took office last September, broke with tradition by first visiting China and South Korea to mend chilled ties with those countries before making a trip to the United States, Japan's closest ally.

But he hopes to build mutual trust with the president during this trip like his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, who is known for having developed close personal ties with Bush.

After the summit talks with Bush, Abe will continue on with his first visit to the Middle East as premier. He will travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt to meet with the leaders there and discuss securing energy supplies for Japan as well as cooperation on the Middle East peace process.

The prime minister and his wife will arrive back in Tokyo on May 3.

Protest over sex slaves planned during Abe's visit to Washington

A rally and march seeking that Japan apologize for its wartime sexual enslavement of civilian women from other Asian countries will be held Thursday near the White House when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrives for talks with U.S. President George W Bush, organizers said Tuesday.

About 500 people are expected to take part, with a speech planned by one of the surviving former sex slaves, according to an application filed with the police. Such protest events during a Japanese leader's visit are rare in the United States. The organizers include Amnesty International USA and other private groups who support a resolution submitted in Congress seeking that Tokyo officially acknowledge and apologize for forcing women to serve in military brothels during World War II.

Washington Post criticizes Abe's handling of sex slave issue

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign to roll back Japan's acceptance of responsibility for the abduction, rape and sexual enslavement of women during World War II is "odd" and "offensive," the Washington Post said in its editorial on Saturday.

In a piece titled "Shinzo Abe's Double Talk," the U.S. daily criticized Abe's attitude over the so-called "comfort women" issue while comparing it with his enthusiasm in resolving North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals and refusing discussions with Pyongyang until it provides information on abductees certified by the Japanese government. "If Mr. Abe seeks international support in learning the fate of Japan's kidnapped citizens, he should straightforwardly accept responsibility for Japan's own crimes and apologize to the victims he has slandered," the editorial said.

No Japan military involvement in running wartime brothels: official

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura on Sunday denied that the Japanese military directly recruited women to work in brothels providing sex for Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.

"There were military nurses and embedded journalists but no 'embedded comfort women.' It is true that there were 'comfort women.' I believe some parents may have sold their daughters. But it does not mean the Japanese army was involved," Shimomura said in a program on Radio Nippon. Shimomura was referring to the controversial issue of whether the Japanese military was directly involved in forcing women, especially those from other Asian countries, into sexual servitude. Such women are euphemistically called "comfort women" in Japan.

North Korea urges Japan to stop talking about abduction issue

North Korea is urging Japan to stop talking about North Korea's past abductions of Japanese nationals and sincerely implement a six-party talks deal promising to supply North Korea with aid in return for denuclearization steps, the Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.

"The DPRK strongly demands Japan stop talking about the 'abduction issue' but redeem the crimes committed by it in the past which are more horrendous than the issue," KCNA said, referring to Japan's wartime acts, such as forcing Korean women into sexual slavery for the Japanese military. KCNA said the abduction issue is already resolved.

U.S. ambassador says sex slaves were raped by Japanese military

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer has said that women, who were engaged in providing sex to Japanese soldiers throughout Asia before and during World War II, were rape victims of the Japanese military, the New York Times reported in its electronic edition Saturday.

"I think they were coerced to engage in prostitution. That means they were raped by the Japanese military at that point in time," Schieffer said, according to the dispatch from Tokyo. "I think that happened, and I think it was a regrettable, terrible thing that it happened." Schieffer described former comfort women who testified last month in Congress about being coerced into prostitution by the Japanese authorities as "credible witnesses."

LDP group to reinvestigate sex slave issues

A group of ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers agreed Wednesday to a government request that they reinvestigate the facts that gave birth to a 1993 official statement apologizing for the Japanese military's forced recruitment of women to provide sex for servicemen during World War II.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the group's chair, Nariaki Nakayama, have differed over which side should conduct the investigation, but ultimately the group conceded to the wishes of Abe and his aides, who are hoping to act in a "cautious" manner ahead of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's planned visit to Japan in April, group members said. The move to reinvestigate the so-called "comfort women" comes amid Abe's recent controversial remarks disputing the Japanese military's role in wartime sexual slavery as well as arguments by some LDP lawmakers that the 1993 statement should be retracted because the military did not force foreign women into sexual slavery.

Japan eyes response to international criticism of Abe's sex slavery remarks

Japan is considering publishing counterarguments and taking other measures in response to international criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent remarks on wartime sex slaves, with the top government spokesman accusing foreign media on Thursday of misinterpreting the remarks.

"It is our understanding that reports on the prime minister's remarks were not based on appropriate interpretation," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said in reference to the furor sparked by Abe's denial of military involvement in the coercion of foreign women into sexual servitude before and during World War II. "We are considering an appropriate response, including publishing rebuttals of media reports and commentaries overseas that are not based on facts or are based on misinterpretations," Shiozaki told a news conference when asked to comment on a New York Times editorial dated Tuesday that criticized Abe's "efforts to contort the truth."

Emperor best person to repair damage over sex slaves: LA Times

A major U.S. newspaper suggested in its editorial published Wednesday that Japan's Emperor Akihito "go one step further and offer a more forceful apology for all the crimes committed in his family's name," commenting on the ongoing controversy over the so-called "comfort women."

The Los Angeles Times' editorial said, "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt to finesse the Japanese government's role in forcing about 200,000 Asian women to work as sex slaves during World War II is worse than unfortunate. It is counterproductive — and the best person to repair the damage is Emperor Akihito himself," the Times said. "The person who could do the most to reconcile the people of Japan and their neighbors with the past is Akihito, the son of wartime emperor Hirohito. He is also the one person who could lift this issue above the political fray."

S Korea's Song raps Abe's remarks on sex slaves

South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Song Min Soon criticized Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday for disputing that the Imperial Japanese Army forced foreign women into sexual slavery during World War II, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"Anyone who doubts the sexual slavery by Japanese imperialism during World War II has to squarely face the truth," Song said after giving a speech in Washington, according to Yonhap. "Such remarks do not help to forge healthy and future-oriented relations between the two countries." Song is the first member of the South Korean cabinet to lash out at Abe for his reported remarks on Thursday that there is no evidence to prove that women were coerced into working in brothels run by Japan's military during the war.

U.S. lawmaker disputes Abe's contention that evidence of sex slaves doesn't exist

A U.S. lawmaker spearheading legislation urging the Japanese government to "officially" apologize for pressing women into sexual servitude during World War II cited an "overwhelming historical record" of the practice, following reported remarks by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe disputing that such evidence of coercion exists.

Abe is reported to have said Thursday that there is no evidence to prove that women were coerced into working in brothels run by Japan's military government during the war, in apparent contrast to a 1993 government statement acknowledging and apologizing for the forced recruitment of so-called 'comfort women' in places such as China and Korea.

Following Abe's remarks, Rep Mike Honda said in a statement that "the overwhelming historical record makes it clear that the Japanese Imperial Army forced as many as 200,000 women into sexual slavery during the Second World War."

Honda urged Tokyo to offer an "official" apology for what he called "undeniable past wrongs," saying it would "only increase Japan's standing as a member of the community of free, democratic nations."

Honda, along with a group of powerful House Republicans, is sponsoring legislation calling on Abe to offer an official apology to former victims of sexual slavery. Prospects are high that the legislation will pass the Democrat-controlled Congress after four similar bills failed to come to a full lower chamber vote in past years under the Republican majority.

The resolution has drawn sharp protest from the Japanese government both in Tokyo and Washington, with Foreign Minister Taro Aso calling the legislation "extremely regrettable and definitely not based on facts."

Japan's Ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato has also argued against passage of the bill, saying his country has already apologized and cautioning it could harm otherwise sound U.S.-Japan relations.

In his statement Honda also cited the 1993 statement, issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, as evidence of Japan's admitted culpability in the comfort women practice.

While Tokyo has said it stands by the statement — Abe indicated last month that he had no intention of revising it — a group of senior ruling party lawmakers is demanding it be reviewed.

Underscoring the momentum of the most recent congressional attempt to prod Japan on the issue, a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee recently held a hearing on the comfort women resolution, hearing testimony from three women who said they were forced to provide sex for the Japanese military during World War II.

Honda has argued that passing the legislation has become urgent given the advancing age of the former victims of Japan's sexual enslavement, who are mostly in their 70s and 80s.

Congressman to press for resolution to force Japan to acknowledge sex slave issue

A Californian congressman is planning to pass a resolution in the new Congress calling for Japan to formally acknowledge and accept responsibility for sexually enslaving women during World War II, the Hill newspaper reported Tuesday.

Japanese-American Rep Mike Honda says he will be prompting intense lobbying activities from the Korean-American community, which last year rallied behind the resolution sponsored by Evans, and from the Japanese government, which opposed the legislation.

The House International Relations Committee passed the controversial resolution last fall. Even though it did not have the force of law, it put the Japanese government on the defensive. Japan argues that it has already apologized and atoned for the treatment of what Tokyo calls "comfort women."

During its occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of WWII, Japan used as many as 200,000 young women from Korea, China, the Philippines and in some cases Western Europe for sexual servitude, a program designed to increase the efficiency and morale of the Japanese soldiers.

Honda's office is determined to reintroduce the resolution as soon as possible in the new Congress. "I look forward to seeking the justice the comfort women deserve," Honda, chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said.

Rep Tom Lantos (D-Calif), incoming chairman of the panel, supported the resolution last year and is expected to do so again.

A source close to the Korean-Asian community said that Honda, as a Japanese-American taking on the issue, could attract even more support. Honda has been known to take on human-rights issues related to Japan. Honda is not a member of the International Relations Committee.

In 1999, while still in the California state legislature, Honda was successful in passing an assembly joint resolution urging Japan to formally issue a "clear and unambiguous apology for the atrocious war crimes committed by its military during World War II," the Hill reported.

According to materials sent by the Japanese Embassy, the Japanese government has extended official apologies on several occasions. One came in 1994 from then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama during the 50-year commemoration of the war's end.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sent personal letters to former comfort women to extend Japan's apology and remorse, according to the embassy.

A so-called Asian Women Fund was established in 1995, but supporters of the House resolution said that the fund is private and not a government fund. Tokyo argues that the fund was established with cooperation from the government and the Japanese people, and that the government contributed funds for the organization's operating costs as well as its medical welfare support projects.

Some of the former comfort women accepted compensation from the Asian Women Fund, but many have rejected it and have held protests in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul.

Some critics of the congressional action say that such a resolution goes beyond asking for an apology. It puts Japan on the defensive and creates tensions between the United States and Japan, America's top ally in Asia.

"This is not just about comfort women but also about Japan's alliance responsibility in the international community," said the source close to the Korean-American community.

'Kono Statement' on comfort women should be reviewed: Shimomura

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura said Wednesday it is necessary to review the relevance of history-related facts that led the government to issue a statement in 1993 to apologize for the sufferings of the "comfort women." In the 1993 statement, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono officially acknowledged that the Imperial Japanese Army forced Asian women into sexual servitude for its soldiers.

Shimomura said in a speech in Tokyo the Kono statement should be reconsidered "by studying more about the facts after collecting objective and scientific knowledge." While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he accepts the statement, the remark by Shimomura, a political follower who he appointed to the government post, is likely to draw fire from the opposition camp.