Eight former Filipino "comfort women" who claim they were sexually abused by Imperial Japanese soldiers during the war held a rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Manila on Friday to call for help from visiting Emperor Akihito.
"To the visiting Emperor, we are already old, our bodies are weak and many of us have died already. We call on you to grant us compensation," said Isabelita Vinuya, 84, president of the Malaya Lolas (Free Grandmothers), a group of former comfort women, Japan's euphemism for the girls and women who were forced into military brothels during the war.
The Emperor and Empress Michiko are in the Philippines for a five-day visit through Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries.