A prominent member of California's Korean-American community hit back at the Japanese government's reaction to a federal judge's dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to remove a city memorial to the "comfort women."

In an email comment to The Japan Times, Phyllis Kim, a spokeswoman for the Korean American Forum of California and a strong backer of the memorial erected by the southern California city of Glendale, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga's comments Wednesday expressing disappointment indicate he is completely out of touch with what is happening in the U.S.

"Efforts to cover up the sexual slavery issue by the Japanese government are failing, and are having the exact opposite effect of raising more awareness about the issue," Kim said.