A South Korean woman who was forced to provide sex for Imperial Japanese soldiers during the war has flown to Hiroshima to criticize Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto for defending Japan's use of military brothels.
"He makes obscene remarks because he doesn't understand the pain" of other people, said 84-year-old Kil Won Ok as she arrived at Hiroshima airport Friday.
Kil was one of the tens of thousands of "comfort woman," Japan's euphemism for the sex slaves, forced to provide sex during the war, when the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule.
Kil is slated to meet with Hashimoto next Friday along with Kim Bok Dong, 87, another ex-comfort woman from South Korea. Kil and Kim will also attend meetings organized by supporters of the former sex slaves in Hiroshima and Okayama.