Symposium held to demand government's compensation for military sex slavery

Calling on the Japanese government to compensate the victims of sex slavery during WWII in compliance with an international tribunal's ruling, the "Violence against Women in War Network Japan" held an international symposium in Tokyo on May 12, attended by about 300 people.

The Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery took place in December 2000 in Tokyo with 64 victims attending from 8 different countries. The final judgment passed in The Hague in December 2001 stated that the Japanese government must accept responsibility and pay compensation for victims of the sex slavery.

At the conference, participants confirmed that they will demand that the government apologize to and compensate the victims, state the fact in history textbooks, and prevent the same tragedy from happening again. On May 13, representatives of the symposium made representations to the government to this effect. (end)