International condemnation of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's comment that the wartime sex slavery system was necessary continued Thursday, with the United States calling the mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) coleader's remarks outrageous and offensive.
Meanwhile, the city of Osaka announced Hashimoto would meet with two Korean former "comfort women" next week in a bid to defuse the situation.
Next month, Hashimoto plans to travel to San Francisco, where he is scheduled to meet with Edwin Lee, the city's first Asian-American mayor and the former director of its human rights commission. After that, Hashimoto plans to visit New York to meet with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.