Tokyo criticized Seoul on Friday over a South Korean minister's use of the term "sex slaves" at a U.N. committee meeting in Geneva to describe the women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.
"Japan is of the view that the expression 'sex slaves' contradicts the facts and should not be used," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that the use of the term on Thursday was "unacceptable and extremely regrettable." An unknown number of the women, euphemistically called "comfort women" in Japan, were from the Korean Peninsula, and the issue has strained ties between the two Asian states.