Japan To Investigate WWII Brothel Charges

After Refusing Apology To "Comfort Women," Prime Minister Promises To Investigate Military Sex Slaves

(AP)  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that ruling party lawmakers will conduct a new investigation into the military's use of brothels during World War II.

The government is ready to cooperate with the investigation, Abe told reporters. Conservatives have called for a new probe, saying they doubt reports that the military kidnapped thousands of women and forced them into sexual slavery.

"I was told the party will conduct an investigation or a study, so we will provide government documents and cooperate as necessary," Abe said.

Last week, Abe triggered outrage across Asia by saying there was no proof the women were coerced into prostitution. On Monday he said Japan will not apologize again for the military's "comfort stations."

Earlier Thursday, the top government spokesman said Japan's position on the coercion of women into sexual slavery during World War II has been misinterpreted and misrepresented by the U.S. media, and Tokyo will soon issue a rebuttal.

"Our view is that the media reports are being made without an appropriate interpretation of the prime minister's remarks," said chief Cabinet spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki. He did not cite any specific reports.

Abe's remarks came as the U.S. Congress was considering a resolution demanding a formal apology from Japan for the wartime brothels.

A senior Japanese official apologized in 1993 for the government's role, but the apology was not approved by Parliament.

"My remarks have been twisted in a sense and reported overseas which further invites misunderstanding," Abe said. "This is an extremely unproductive situation."

Historians say as many as 200,000 women — mostly from Korea, China, Southeast Asia and Japan — worked in Japanese military brothels throughout Asia in the 1930s and '40s. Defense documents uncovered in 1992 showed that the military had a direct role in running the brothels, a charge the government had previously denied.

Victims, witnesses and former soldiers have said women and girls were kidnapped to serve as prostitutes.

Abe said Thursday that he "basically stands by the 1993 apology." The apology, made by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, acknowledged government involvement in the brothels, and that some women were coerced into sexual service.

But Abe's remarks appeared to step away from the government's previous position.

Nariaki Nakayama, a conservative lawmaker who heads a group of ruling Liberal Democratic Party members calling for a new probe, said they want the government to review the 1993 apology if errors are found in previous investigations, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Abe's comments have incensed critics in China, North and South Korea, and the Philippines. They have demanded that Japan acknowledge its responsibility.

The fallout from the remarks has continued to build.

The coercion of women into prostitution was "one of the key, serious crimes committed by Japanese imperial soldiers," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday.

"We hope that Japan can show courage, take a responsible attitude toward history," he said.

North Korea's official news agency said Abe's comment "once again strips bare his true colors as a political charlatan."

[nonameabc]

Japanese is %u201Csmart%u201D and cruel. They deny of the WWII history at this time because, 2007-1945, it is 62 years. Most of the witnesses and victims lived in that era who were dead. Japanese is not only denied on the *** slaves, %u201Ccomfort women%u201D, they also denied the Nan-King slaughter, one of the city in China that they %u201Craped and tortured%u201D in WWII where million of innocent blood and screaming from cool blood killing. They used the life civilians to perform biological tests, it called 731 team. In few weeks, over 300,000 civilians were killed and murdered. Japanese soldiers raped and killed regardless of age, burn, steal. You can check the reference here:
http://prion.bchs.uh.edu/~zzhang/1/Nanking_Massacre/gallery1.html
http://www.users.bigpond.com/battleforaustralia/JapWarCrimes/TenWarCrimes/Rape_Nanking.html
The government never teaches students the real history and the textbooks mentioned %u201Cin and out%u201D of other Asian countries in WWII. Because of this good covering, new generation does not know the real. It has a museum to put all classified %u201CGrade A%u201D war criminal photos for the Prime minister and his fellows to honor every year. To see what they are doing now, they will deny the Pearl Harbor, or they will say US force them to attack. However, they do not know history is a good reference for learning, their new dream will be end in the same way as the history told. Nobody can deny of history, or he will be shame.

[obiwan234]

"U.S. Congress was considering a resolution demanding a formal apology from Japan for the wartime brothels."

I think our Congress has much more pressing challenges; dealing with our countrys security and illegal immagration concern than what happened 62 plus years ago. But some had rather deal with the easy issues than to do what we elect our own ****** in congress to do.

[candojj1]

As long as the U.S. is Japan's largest debtor, the U.S. has no right criticizing anything that Japan did. Imagine if Japan withdrew it's $680 billion dollars from our national debt. So we should shut up about other peoples problems as we have not solved any of our own.

[kojihirai-2009]

If you are interested in Asian countries, this may be the best case to learn about 3 different countries, Japan, China, and Korea. They say Korean women were forced to serve as comfort women. Is it true? You can find some advertisement to recruit such women and it was not forcing at all. Other people may say more than 300000 Chinese were killed with savage brutality in Nanjing. O.K. Let me ask one question. How many Chinese people lived in Nanjing at that moment? Where did 30000 dead bodies go? I appreciate CBS's covering this news. Please investigate and seek the truth. It may be helpful for the%u3000peace of the world to come. Thank you.

[pakaal]

kojihirai, do you think the thousands of women alive today who suffered under Japanese brutality are lying? The only "controversy" about this is that Abe refuses to admit to the truth of that history.

I recommend this overview:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre#Historiography_and_debate

Your question about the number of people living in Nanking disregards the number of refugees flooding the city at the time, rendering a true number difficult, but many current estimates are revising the 300,000 killed number upward, not downward.