The recent denials made by some of Japan’s leading political figures that the Japanese military had forced women into sex slavery during World War II were “deplorable,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement yesterday.
The ministry said that it deplored the comments for dismissing the fact that women in some of Japan’s neighboring countries were either duped or forced into becoming “comfort women” during the war.
The statement was made in response to comments by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto. The ministry said the Japanese officials have disregarded the facts.
Their comments were at odds with those made by then-Japanese Cabinet secretary Kono Yohei, who apologized for the “comfort women” in 1993, the ministry said.
That year, Yohei acknowledged that “comfort stations” had existed and that Japanese military and government officials directly or indirectly engaged in the establishment and management of the stations and in the recruitment of sex slaves.
Yohei’s apology came after Tokyo conducted a one-and-a-half-year-long investigation into the issue that revealed in many cases, women had been recruited to serve as “comfort women” against their will through coaxing and coercion, as well as that, at times, government and military personnel directly took part in the transfer of such women.
According to a report published earlier this week by the South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo, Hashimoto said on Tuesday that “there is no evidence that ‘comfort women’ were assaulted and threatened by the [Japanese] military and taken captive.”
Hashimoto made the remarks when he answered questions from the Japanese press about South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s demand that the Japanese emperor apologize for his country’s wartime atrocities if he wished to visit South Korea.
On Friday, Ishihara reportedly said at a press conference that wartime “comfort women” volunteered for the job motivated by profits and were not coerced to do so.
The ministry’s statement said that the comments made by Ishihara not only sullied the character of the victims who are already mentally and physically ravaged, but also made them to suffer another aggravated assault.
“[We] called on Japanese politicians to face up to the issue of ‘comfort women.’ They should respect the women who have suffered and listen to their appeals. The Japanese government should restore their reputations and give them justice,” it said.
Taipei has repeatedly called for the Japanese government to apologize to the victims with sincerity and provide them compensation and will continue to do so to seek justice on behalf of Taiwanese victims, the statement added.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the