Osaka mayor objects resolution condemning his remarks on "comfort women"

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who is also co-leader of the opposition Japan Restoration Party, revealed that he has asked the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to retract its resolution condemning his remarks on the so-called "comfort women" in the Japanese military during World War II, saying he has never justified the use of such women under the military regime, local press reported on Friday.

The mayor said in a press conference held on Thursday in the municipal office that he has sent a seven-page letter of refutation to the board of supervisors of San Francisco, Osaka's sister city, to demand it retract the resolution they approved concerning his statements, according to the daily Mainichi Shimbun on Friday.

Hashimoto insisted in the letter dated Aug. 13 that the resolution taken in June in San Francisco had been approved based on misunderstandings over his statement and that he has never legitimized the "comfort women" system, the report said.

During the press conference Hashimoto showed his willingness to further listen to any further objections from the city on the U.S. west coast, while stressing that wartime military brothels have been common throughout the world's history.

The board unanimously adopted the resolution on June 18, stating that it "strongly condemns the attitude and statements" of Hashimoto justifying the state-sponsored "comfort women" system that forced hundreds of thousands of Asian women into sexual servitude for the Japanese military.