Japan's Education Minister Nariyaki Nakayama on Saturday told a town meeting
there were no terms to describe people who served as sex slaves for the
Japanese Army in the first place and that it was thus inappropriate to term
them as comfort women.
Women from such countries as Korea and China were forced into prostitution for
the Japanese military during World War II, with the term "comfort women" being
used to euphemize the prostitution.
Many of the few who survived the experience are now in their later years, most
of them suffering from chronic illnesses.
Nakayama's remarks over the weekend stoked the burgeoning anger among the
Korean public against Japan's reinterpretation of its history reflected in a
new set of textbooks that critics claim "glorify" its invasion.
Korea, Japan and China have been involved in a tense conflict over various
history issues since earlier this year, raising concerns that the tension may
boil over to hurt overall relations among the Northeast Asian neighbors.
"The Seoul government strongly demands Japan to adopt the correct view of
history and make sure no such remarks are repeated in the future," spokesman
Lee said.
Late last month remarks by Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi that the
United States does not full trust South Korea caused a major uproar between the
countries, eventually resulting in apology by Yachi.
Last year Nakayama faced sharp criticism from Asian countries by saying that
the controversial textbooks were better because they carried fewer descriptions
of arbitrary arrests of young men and sex slaves. The minister also emphasized
it was time to boost Japan's patriotism.
The controversial textbooks are to undergo a schools' selection process in
August for use in secondary schools starting next year.
A number of civic groups are currently conducting wide campaigns in Japan
urging parents and teachers to prevent distribution of the textbooks in
question. Some of the textbooks also claim Japan has legal sovereignty over
Korea-controlled Dokdo islands in the East Sea.
The Japanese Education Ministry approved all of the revised textbooks this
April, prompting emotional public rallies and protests across Korea and China.
