Twin cities cut ties with American statue symbolizing Japan's use of sex slaves during war

The Japanese city of Osaka has ended its relations with sister cities with San Francisco because of a heated dispute over a statue commemorating the victims of sexual slavery attributable to Japanese military forces in the early 20th century .

Last year, the late California city mayor, Edwin Lee, had agreed to allow the erection of a statue of "comfort women" in the Chinatown neighborhood, representing women from China, Korea and the Philippines.

The inscription of the statue indicated that it "bore witness to the suffering of hundreds of thousands of women and girls euphemistically called" comfort women "who had been sexually slaves by the Japanese imperial forces in thirteen Asian and Indian countries. of the Pacific from 1931 to 1945. "

But after mayor of London Breed, Lee's successor, said the statue could stay, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura sent a 10-page complaint letter revoking twin city status since 1957.

The statue of artist Steven Whyte "Comfort Women", depicting sex slaves from the time of the Second World War, is on display at St. Mary's Square, San Francisco, November 1, 2017. Osaka , in Japan, broke its sister status with the city's monument. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Yoshimura said that historians did not agree on the number of "comfort women" and that the monument did not take into account all the women sexually assaulted by soldiers from other countries.

He also said that there was no consensus on "the degree of involvement of the former Japanese army and the extent of the damage caused by the war."

"Unfortunately, the uncertain and unilateral claims engraved presented in the definitive inscription have led to a recognition of history that has led to a political condemnation of Japan, causing disruption among the local communities of San Francisco," said Yoshimura.

"I am not on the side of any attempt to justify the problem of" comfort women "in Japan, nor of the intention to do so in the future.Japan must express deep remorse and present sincere apologies to the old "comfort women." … However, trivializing the problem by distinguishing Japan will not lead to solving it as a global problem. "

Lillian Sing, co-chair of the Comfort Women Justice Coalition, said The Guardian: "Breaking the relationship on a memorial is scandalous and absurd. This shows how much the mayor of Osaka and the Japanese Prime Minister are afraid of the truth and are trying to deny the story. "

There are also tensions between South Korea and Japan after the construction of statues on buses in Seoul in August 2017 to honor former sex slaves. The Japanese and South Korean governments reached an agreement in 2015 including an apology from Japan, although Tokyo has never accepted the legal responsibility of the comfort women.

Japan has also created the $ 8.7 million Reconciliation and Healing Foundation to fund survivor care. However, South Korean President Moon Jae-in criticized the fund because it was not widely supported by South Koreans. In March, Moon called women's slavery a "crime against humanity".