Once a sex slave by Japanese soldiers during the world war II, Lee Yong-soo requested Japan’s government to ask for forgiveness in the midst of an escalating international row over the fate of the so-called ‘comfort women’, a Japanese euphemism for wartime sex slaves.
Historians say some 200,000 women, mostly from Korea and China, served in the Japanese military brothels throughout Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. Many victims say they were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops and the top government representative accepted the unlawful activity in 1993.
Why did Japan have to take little girls, some only 14 or 15 years old, to give these horrific services? 78-year-old Lee told a news conference, wiping away tears as she recalled her ordeal.
The idea of apologizing has ignited a spark with South Korea criticizing Japan’s handling of its wartime past and some Japanese politicians denying that the army had ever forced women into prostitution.
Japanese right-wing groups and several politicians in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have questioned the testimonies of former ‘comfort women’ in Korea, China and Southeast Asia. However, supporters of the women asserted that the Japanese authorities famously burned incriminating documents or kept them hidden.
