Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida argued Monday that "comfort women" should not be described as "sex slaves," challenging widespread use of the term by Western media outlets.
"The term 'sex slaves' doesn't match the facts, and (the Japanese government) believes it should not be used," Kishida said during a session of the Upper House Budget Committee when asked about the matter by Takashi Uto, a fellow member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Kishida also said the South Korean government has confirmed that the formal term used by Seoul is "victims of the comfort women issue of the Japanese military," not "sex slaves."