Talk about a denier.
[a href="vny!://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4597277.html" target="_blank"]vny!://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4597277.html[/a]
Historians say some 200,000 women — mostly from Korea and China — served in the Japanese military brothels throughout Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. Witnesses, victims and even some former Japanese soldiers say many of the women were kidnapped or otherwise forced into brothels, where they could be raped by scores of soldiers a day.
Abe on Thursday said there is no proof the women were forced into prostitution: "The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion."
His statement contradicted evidence in Japanese documents unearthed in 1992 that historians said showed military authorities had a direct role in working with contractors to forcibly procure women for the brothels, known as "comfort stations." The remark also cast doubt on a 1993 Japanese government apology to the sex slaves.
