Japan apologized again on Monday for the suffering of women who
served as sex slaves for the Japanese military during World War II,
a day after comments by a cabinet minister drew an angry reaction
in South Korea.
Education Minister Nariaki Nakayama was quoted by media over the
weekend as saying the term "comfort women," a euphemism for the sex
slaves, did not exist during the war and it was good the term had
disappeared from school textbooks.
Ties between Japan and South Korea have been strained by a range
of feuds, including one over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi's annual visits to a Tokyo shrine for the war dead which
Seoul, like China, sees as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
The two sides have been unable to set a date for a regular
summit meeting between Koizumi and South Korean President Roh
Moo-hyun, which they had agreed to hold by the end of June.
Japan's top government spokesman sought to contain any further
damage, saying Tokyo was sorry for the sex slaves.
"The comfort women did exist and we are aware that the pride and
dignity of many women were hurt," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki
Hosoda said.
"We have repeatedly expressed our apology and remorse, and there
is no change to that."
South Korean politicians and media blasted Nakayama, who caused
a stir last November by praising history textbooks that played down
what he termed "excessive descriptions" of Japanese wartime
wrongdoing.
"We only feel regret and rage at these senseless words that deny
past aggression coming from the highest official responsible for
Japan's education with no trace of remorse," Jun Byung-hun, a
spokesman for South Korea's ruling Uri Party, said on Sunday.
In addition to a territorial row over two tiny islands, many
South Koreans feel Japan has not squarely faced its wartime past,
including the brutal 1910-1945 rule of the Korean peninsula.
Historians estimate that as many as 200,000 women, mostly
Korean, were forced into sexual slavery in Japanese military
brothels during World War II.
But the term "comfort women" is set to disappear from many
government-approved history textbooks for junior high schools from
next year, Japanese media have reported.
In a bid to narrow the gap over history, the two governments
launched a joint study four years ago, but a report on its results
issued on Friday showed the two sides were sharply at odds on many
subjects, including the sex slaves issue.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies June 13, 2005)
