Japan to examine Seoul court sexual slavery claim rejection

Japan said Wednesday it will study a South Korean court's rejection of a claim by sexual slavery victims and their relatives seeking compensation from the Japanese government over their wartime sufferings.

"As we need to closely examine the details, the government cannot make any comment on this," said Katsunobu Kato, Japan's chief cabinet secretary.

But Kato did note that the Seoul Central District Court's decision conflicted with a previous ruling on a separate case that found the Japanese government responsible for compensating sexual slavery victims.

In January, the same court had called for the Japanese government to give 100 million won ($89,000) each to a separate group of 12 women who sued in 2013 over their wartime suffering as sex slaves.

That previous ruling was a “clear violation of international law” that was “extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable” for Tokyo, Kato said.

Tens of thousands of women across Japanese-occupied Asia and the Pacific were moved to front-line brothels used by the Japanese military.

Japan insists compensation issues were settled under the 1965 treaty, in which Tokyo provided $500 million in economic assistance to Seoul.

(Image Credit: AP)