The government said Friday it will look closely at a U.N. body's recommendation urging Japan to apologize and pay compensation to "comfort women" who were forced to work in World War II military brothels.

The issue was included in a total of 218 non-legally binding recommendations on Japan's human rights record adopted Thursday by the U.N. Human Rights Council's working group in Geneva.

"Generally speaking, the preliminary report tends to list remarks and recommendations by only a few countries or regions," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference.