TO: President of the House of Representatives;
      President of the House of Councilors; 
      The Prime Minister;
      Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications;
      Minister of Justice;
      Minister of Foreign Affairs;
      Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

FROM: Members of the Sapporo City Council

DATE: November 11, 2008

SUBJECT: Statement of Opinion regarding the Issue of “Comfort Women” for the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in WWII

On July 30, 2007, the United States’ House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution calling on the Japanese government to formally acknowledge and apologize for its “Imperial Armed Forces’ coercion of young women into sexual slavery” in the Asia-Pacific region during World War II.

Demanding the Japanese government to offer due apology and compensation for and provide education on history on the enslavement of these comfort women, similar resolutions were adopted by the Netherlands and Canada in November 2008 and by the European Parliament on December 13, 2008. The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Filipino House of Representatives also adopted its second resolution on the issue in March this year following the one passed in 2005. In addition, the United Nations (UN), the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other international organizations advocating human rights have repeatedly pointed out and made recommendations on the issue.

The Japanese government, however, has yet to extend a public apology despite the adoption of all these resolutions. This is contradictory to what is specified in the 1993 statement by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono.

Criticism is mounting all around the world over the fact that Japan has neither made any official apology nor provided compensation for the victims of such sexual slavery. The Japanese Government also did not sought to probe the truth about the atrocities committed during the war and to further exacerbate matters, is even trying to remove statements on these comfort women from its school textbooks.

Against this backdrop, we strongly urge the parliament and the government to uncover the truth about the exploitation of “comfort women” based on the Kono Statement, endeavor to restore the dignity of the victims, and undertake the following actions sincerely for this purpose:

1. Acknowledge the damage done to “comfort women” and apologize to the victims based on a Cabinet decision;
2. Develop legislation to address the issue of “comfort women” with the aim of reinstating the honor of victims and providing compensation for any damage done; and
3. Provide historical education on the issue of “comfort women” in schools and community settings to ensure that Japanese citizens properly understand and learn from their history.

We hereby submit our opinion pursuant to the provisions of Article 99 of the Local Government Act.