In a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty on Monday, Osaka's leaders expressed solidarity with America over North Korea but concern that San Francisco, Osaka's sister city, erected a monument to the wartime "comfort women" who were forced into Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.

The meeting saw Hagerty meet with Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, who heads Nippon Ishin no Kai, an opposition party that works closely with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party on major policy issues, as well as Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura. Osaka and San Francisco have a sister-city relationship.

Much of the meeting focused on North Korea, Osaka officials said.