Japan PM aide denies military forced WW2 sex slaves

Japan PM aide denies military forced WW2 sex slaves
Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:25PM BST

TOKYO (Reuters) - A key aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied on Sunday that Japan's army had directly recruited women and forced them to serve as sex slaves for its soldiers during World War Two, Kyodo news agency reported.

Abe has sparked outrage overseas by saying there was no proof Japan's government or army kidnapped women to work as "comfort women", as the wartime sex slaves are known in Japan.

Abe has also said, however, that he stood by a 1993 apology acknowledging official involvement in the brothels.

"There were military nurses and embedded journalists but no 'embedded comfort women'," Kyodo news agency quoted Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura as saying on a radio programme.

"It is true that there were 'comfort women'. I believe some parents may have sold their daughters. But it does not mean the Japanese army was involved," Shimomura added.

Abe's comments denying official involvement in kidnapping women, mostly Asian, to work in the wartime brothels have angered Seoul and risk straining ties with Washington, where U.S. Congressman Michael Honda has introduced a resolution calling for Japan to make an unambiguous apology for the suffering of the sex slaves.

China, apparently keen to keep a recent improvement in relations with Japan on track, has called on Tokyo to face up to its past but has been relatively restrained in its comments ahead of a visit next month by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Congress is not expected to vote on the Honda resolution until May, after Abe makes a visit to Washington for talks with close ally, U.S. President George W. Bush.