Tomiko Okazaki, Japan’s National Public Safety Commission chairperson and Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety said in response to a councillor’s question at the Japanese House of Counsellors’ Committee on Cabinet on Thursday, that there should be an apology and reparations at the Japanese government level for “comfort women” drafted to perform sexual services for the Japanese Army.

According to a Friday report in the Sankei Shimbun, Okazaki responded to a question on the comfort women issue from Liberal Democratic Party Councillor Shoji Nishida by saying, "We certainly want to proceed with measures for restoring honor and dignity. We believe we must consider [financial payments] as well."

This effectively marks the first time a sitting Cabinet officer in the Japanese government has commented on the need for a government apology and financial reparations to comfort women, who were coerced to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese military during World War II.

To date, the Japanese government has maintained the position that the matter of reparations for damages inflicted during the Japanese occupation of Korea was entirely resolved with the 1965 Korea-Japan Accord. However, since current Prime Minister Naoto Kan took office, it has adopted a vaguer stance, saying that the matter of state reparations was settled, but that there was still the possibility of citizen-to-citizen reparations.

Since assuming the position of National Public Safety Commission chairperson, Okazaki has been the target of a concerted attack by opposition party politicians due to her participation in a 2003 anti-Japan demonstration in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul organized by a support group for comfort women. She has consistently stated that the Japanese government needs to apologize and make financial reparations to comfort women, and presented related legislation to the Diet of Japan.

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