Nongovernmental organizations began a five-day people's tribunal Friday in Tokyo to clarify the criminal role of the government and Japanese soldiers in regards to violence against women during the war.

The Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery will hear cases of women who were forced to provide sex to soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army, with high-profile judges from the international community presiding.

The judges -- including Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, ex-president of the Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal, and Carmen Maria Argibay, president of the International Association of Women Judges -- are to issue a ruling Tuesday.