'Comfort woman' to visit Japan

'Comfort woman' to visit Japan

YOGYAKARTA: A former Japanese army comfort woman will attend
an Asia-Pacific meeting of former comfort women in Japan next
month.

Mardiyem, alias Momoye, 65, will represent thousands of
Indonesian women who were forced to become Japanese troops' sex
slaves in World War II.

She was invited to Tokyo by the Citizens Fund for Redress of
World War II, a Japanese non-profit organization which supports
victims of Japanese atrocities.

Mardiyem will be accompanied by a lawyer from the Yogyakarta
chapter of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), which has been actively
defending the rights of former comfort women.

The meeting, to be held on July 3, will be attended by former
comfort women from the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and
Indonesia, Antara reported.

Compensation and an apology from the Japanese government will
be high on the meeting's agenda.

The Yogyakarta chapter of the Legal Aid Institute has been
seeking compensation for comfort women and forced laborers for
some time. (pan)