A U.N. body on Thursday called on Japan to take steps to better protect press freedoms as concerns about the country's laws aimed at curtailing leaks of state secrets could hinder the work of journalists.

In another of the 218 nonlegally binding recommendations on Japan's human rights record released by the U.N. Human Rights Council's working group, Tokyo was urged to apologize and pay compensation to "comfort women" forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels.

The recommendations reflected the views of some 105 countries. Of the issues raised, the U.N. council will adopt those that have been accepted by the country in question at a plenary session around March 2018.