A representative from the German World Day of Prayer Committee presented 66,510 German signatures to the Prime Minister's Office on June 11 urging the government to pay individual reparations to former "comfort women."
The group also demanded the government acknowledge that the Imperial Japanese Army's involvement in forcing the women into sexual slavery was in violation of international law and issue a new official apology. The signatures are the result of the World Day of Prayer, an organization and event that began 110 years ago to grant women a greater role in the Christian church, said Maren Trosien, who presented the signatures and spoke to some 40 people about the group's request.
The World Day of Prayer is currently active in 170 countries. Each year, one country is selected to write a prayer that is then translated and read during services around the world on the first Friday in March.