TOKYO, Feb. 12 -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday demanded that remarks made by South Korea's National Assembly speaker insisting that Emperor Akihito should apologize for the so-called "comfort women" issue be retracted.
"I was astonished. We've immediately conveyed through diplomatic channels that the remarks were extremely inappropriate and deplorable," Abe was quoted as telling a parliamentary committee on the matter.
The Japanese government has lodged a "stern protest" over the matter and demanded an apology, Abe told the committee.
Abe's comments were based on remarks made by South Korean National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang to Bloomberg news service in an interview last week.
The "comfort women" issue refers to soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army coercing and kidnapping girls and women and forcing them to work as sex slaves, servicing Japanese soldiers at military brothels during World War II.
Many of the women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese aggressors came from the Korean Peninsula, as well as from other parts of Asia, including China.
Euphemistically, these sex slaves have come to be known collectively as the "comfort women".
Moon, in the interview, called Japan's Emperor Akihito "the son of the main culprit of war crimes," which was likely owing to the fact that Akihito's father is Emperor Hirohito who was in power before and during World War II.
Asked how Japan can mend its long-running dispute over wartime matters with South Korea, Moon was quoted as saying, "If a person like that (Akihito) holds the hands of the elderly former comfort women and says he's really sorry, then that one word will resolve matters once and for all."
While anger over the remarks have been fueled in Japan, Moon in further comments made on Monday underscored his stance, stating that an apology was necessary from "a leader in a responsible position in Japan," as reported by local media here.
He also maintained that Japan's previous apologies over the "comfort women" issue have been insincere.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press briefing on the matter on Tuesday that Japan has been informed by the South Korean government that the report did not reflect Moon's "true intentions" to improve bilateral relations.
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修3 Unit 2《Healthy eating》
2017届高考英语一轮课时跟踪检测:(二十六)《Art》(人教版选修6)
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修4 Unit 4《Body language》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修5 Unit 5《First aid》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修4 Unit 5《Theme parks》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:选修6 Unit 2《Poems》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修4 Unit 2《Working the land》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修1 Unit 3《Travel journal》
2017届高考英语一轮课时跟踪检测:(二十四)《Making the news》(人教版必修5)
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:选修6 Unit 3《A healthy life》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修3 Unit 4《Astronomy the science of the stars》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修5 Unit 4《Making the news》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:选修7 Unit 5《Travelling abroad》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:必修5 Unit 1《Great Scientists》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:必修1 Unit 4《Earthquakes》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修5 Unit 3《Life in the future》
2017届高考英语一轮课时跟踪检测:(二十九)《Global warming》(人教版选修6)
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:选修6 Unit 2《Poems》
2017届高考英语一轮课时跟踪检测:(二十一)《Great scientists》(人教版必修5)
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:必修5 Unit 4《Making the news》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修2 Unit 3《Computers》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:选修7 Unit 3《Under the sea》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修4 Unit 1《Women of achievement》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:必修1 Unit 3《Travel journal》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:选修6 Unit 3《A healthy life》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:选修6 Unit 1《Art》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:选修6 Unit 4《Global warming》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础晨记:必修1 Unit 4《Earthquakes》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:必修5 Unit 5《First aid》
2017届浙江省高考英语一轮复习基础巩固:选修7 Unit 4《Sharing》
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |