US House wants Japanese sex slaves apology

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WASHINGTON, July 31 (AFP): The US House of Representatives Monday demanded an apology from US ally Japan for the sexual slavery inflicted by its wartime military on 200,000 Asian women.
In a resolution passed by a voice vote, lawmakers called on the Tokyo government to make an "unambiguous apology" for the coercion of women into army brothels during the 1930s and World War II.
The Japanese government has insisted it has already apologised for the treatment of the so-called "comfort women" and has given no sign that it intends to do so again.
Backers of the resolution immediately hailed it as sending an important message to Japan.
"The US House of Representatives resolution sends an unambiguous signal to the Japanese government that justice is long overdue to the victims forced into prostitution by the Japanese military during World War II," said Dr. Purna Sen, Asia-Pacific Programme Director with Amnesty International.
"This resolution also sends a powerful message to the survivors, who have combated a lifetime of hardship and stigma, and who still bear the terrible scars from the sexual slavery-that their plight is not forgotten."