Japan should face up to history, take the responsibility, and
seriously view and properly handle the issue of "comfort women",
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said at a press conference
Tuesday.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of the Fifth Session of the
Tenth National People's Congress (NPC), China's top
legislature.
It is a historical fact that "comfort women" issue is a serious
crime committed by Japanese troops during the World War II, said
Li.
The Japanese government should take history as a mirror and look
forward to the future to properly handle the China-Japanese
relations.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of
bilateral diplomatic ties, the two sides should grasp this
important opportunity to handle well the fundamental political
issues concerning bilateral relationship and to expand and deepen
exchanges and cooperation, Li said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that Japan
would not offer any new apology over the wartime sex slavery issue
after he told reporters that "there is no evidence to prove there
was coercion" exercised over the foreign women.
It is estimated that during World War II, some 200,000 Asian
women were forcibly drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army to
serve as sex slaves. Surviving comfort women have demanded apology
and compensation from the Japanese government.
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2007)