China urges Japan to 'deeply reflect' on 'comfort women' issue

ISTANBUL

China has called on Japan to confront its wartime past and address longstanding grievances related to the forced recruitment of “comfort women.”

Speaking at a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the international community is strongly indignant about this issue.

"The forced recruitment of 'comfort women' was a grave crime committed by Japanese militarism, a severe trampling on the rights of the victims. The evidence is irrefutable and cannot be denied," he told reporters.

He was responding to a question from Chinese state-run media claiming that several special human rights mechanisms, including the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, had jointly sent a letter to the Japanese government, expressing serious concern over Japan allegedly depriving the victims of the right to seek truth and compensation.

However, Anadolu could not independently confirm whether the letter had been sent or not.

Lin accused some groups within Japan of attempting to “deny or even distort” the historical record, adding that Beijing remains deeply concerned about what it views as an inadequate response to wartime atrocities.

“Japan should deeply reflect on its history of aggression, profoundly reconsider the deep suffering its crimes inflicted on the victims, and properly handle historical issues such as the forced recruitment of comfort women with honesty and responsibility,” he said, urging Tokyo to take concrete steps to gain the trust of its Asian neighbors and the wider international community.

Japan has not yet responded to the statement from Beijing.