It’s been revealed pressure from the United States got then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to relent on his contentious claim before a Diet committee in March that there was no proof Japan Imperial forces were directly involved in forcing women into sexual slavery during World War II.
After Abe’s remarks, U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer told a senior Japanese government official the U.S. would not be able to continue to support Japan over the North Korean abduction issue if Abe did not back down. After deliberations with other government officials, Abe altered his position and announced that he stands by Japan’s 1993 official statement of apology to the sex slaves, which were referred to as “comfort women” during the war.
The 1993 statement, issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, acknowledges and apologizes for the Imperial forces’ involvement in forcing women and girls to work in frontline brothels in Japanese-occupied areas in the 1930s and 1940s.
