An apology to surviving "comfort women" by the Japanese ambassador as well as humanitarian measures funded by Japan were proposed in 2012, by the government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, to heal the long-standing dispute with South Korea over the issue that had recently reignited, former senior officials of both countries revealed Sunday.
The term comfort women is a euphemism used to refer to women who provided sex, including those who did so against their will, for Japanese troops before and during World War II.
South Korea has long called on Japan to acknowledge state responsibility for the wartime system. Tokyo argued at the time that the proposal amounted to an admission of "public responsibility" for the issue.