The vote July 30 in the House of Representative on H. Res. 121, the so called "Comfort Women" resolution, is a milestone in the pursuit of justice of the more than 200,000 Asian and Western women who suffered sexual and physical abuse, death and humiliation at the hands of hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops during the Second World War in Asia from 1931-1945.
H. Res. 121, introduced by Mike Honda (D-CA15), calls for the government of Japan to, in a clear and unequivocal manner, 1) formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility for the systematic exploitative of the "comfort women"; 2) apologize in a public statement by the Prime Minister of Japan in his official capacity; 3) clearly and publicly refute any claims the sexual enslavement and trafficking of "comfort women" never occurred; and 4) educate current and future generations about this horrible war crime in conformity with recommendations of the international community regarding the "comfort women."
The passage of this resolution with unanimous bipartisan support in the House sends a clear message to the Japanese government that the international community will no longer tolerate Japan's continual denial of this travesty against the women of Asia and of the world and that Japan must bear the responsibility for this crime against humanity. It is the first step toward addressing the injustice done to the many victims of Japan's imperialistic ambitions in Asia during the Asia Pacific War.