Thirty-seven lawyers and scholars have established a group to push for legislation that would make the national government directly compensate foreign World War II victims, the group's representatives said Oct. 7.The group's founding members include lawyer Koken Tsuchiya, the former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Hosei University Professor Yoko Tajima and novelist Ayako Miura. Nearly half of members are lawyers.The group will urge a nonpartisan group of Diet members to introduce a set of two bills, Tsuchiya said. One bill would be aimed at investigating "violations of international humanitarian law" committed by the Japanese military before and during World War II. The other would enable a provisional payment by the government for women forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers at wartime frontline brothels, he said.
