California Protesters Call on Japan’s PM to Apologize for WWII Crimes

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Hundreds of US residents of Korean and Chinese descent gathered in San Francisco to protest against the upcoming visit of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, urging Japan to apologize for mistreating Asian women and committing other crimes during World War II.

The protesters held a rally on Tuesday outside the Japanese Consulate holding posters reading "War crime denier not welcome." Their demands included Tokyo apologizing for exploiting some 200,000 Asian women as sex slaves during WWII, punishing officials who deny war crimes and reviewing the way WWII is taught in Japanese schools.

Abe is scheduled to visit Los Angeles and San Francisco later this week as a part of an eight-day-long trip to the United States that started on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Japanese leader met President Barack Obama. The two leaders agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in the areas of space and nuclear energy, reiterated their support for diplomatic efforts aimed at the denuclearization of North Korea and reviewed progress toward the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

Answering a journalist's question on whether he would apologize for Japan's actions during WWII at a press conference following his meeting with Obama, Abe said that he was "deeply pained" to think of all the suffering Asian sex slaves had to go through.

Later on Wednesday Abe will speak before the US Congress. Last week a bipartisan group of 25 US lawmakers wrote a letter to Japan's ambassador to the United States expressing hope that in his speech Abe will "formally reaffirm" the apologies for Japanese wartime aggression.