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TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, under fire for denying that Japan forced women to work as sex slaves during World War II, offered a fresh apology Monday but stopped short of clearly acknowledging Japan's responsibility for the front-line brothels.
"I express my sympathy toward the comfort women and apologize for the situation they found themselves in," Abe told a parliamentary debate, using a euphemism used by Japanese politicians to refer to former sex slaves.
"I apologize here and now as prime minister," he said.
Abe's apology was his clearest yet since the conservative leader triggered international furor earlier this month by saying there was no evidence that women were coerced into sexual service during the war.
Still, his remarks fall short of victims' demands for Abe to clearly acknowledge that the military forced the women into prostitution.
Historians say as many as 200,000 Asian women, mostly from Korea and China, worked in military-run brothels. Victims say they were forced into the brothels by the Japanese military and were held against their will.
Abe's earlier denial of coercion drew intense criticism from Beijing and Seoul, which accuse Tokyo of failing to fully atone for wartime invasions and atrocities.
The issue has also stirred debate in the United States, where a committee in the House of Representatives is considering a nonbinding resolution calling on Tokyo to fully acknowledge wrongdoing and make an unambiguous apology.
Abe on Monday rebuffed criticism in the U.S. media for his efforts to champion the cause of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents decades ago, while refusing to own up to Japan's own past kidnappings.
"(North Korea's) abductions and the comfort women issue are a completely different matter," Abe told reporters. "The issue of the abductees is an ongoing violation of human rights, while it is not as if the comfort women issue is continuing."
Abe had said previously he would not offer a fresh apology, saying Tokyo expressed its remorse in a 1993 statement on the matter by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono. Right-wing politicians who make up the bulk of Abe's support base have made renewed efforts in recent weeks to roll back that apology.
Japan has rejected most compensation claims from victims. Instead, a private fund created in 1995 by the Japanese government has provided a way for Tokyo to support former sex slaves without offering official government compensation.
Many women rejected the payments, demanding government compensation and a parliament-approved apology.
"I express my sympathy toward the comfort women and apologize for the situation they found themselves in," Abe told a parliamentary debate, using a euphemism used by Japanese politicians to refer to former sex slaves.
"I apologize here and now as prime minister," he said.
Abe's apology was his clearest yet since the conservative leader triggered international furor earlier this month by saying there was no evidence that women were coerced into sexual service during the war.
Still, his remarks fall short of victims' demands for Abe to clearly acknowledge that the military forced the women into prostitution.
Historians say as many as 200,000 Asian women, mostly from Korea and China, worked in military-run brothels. Victims say they were forced into the brothels by the Japanese military and were held against their will.
Abe's earlier denial of coercion drew intense criticism from Beijing and Seoul, which accuse Tokyo of failing to fully atone for wartime invasions and atrocities.
The issue has also stirred debate in the United States, where a committee in the House of Representatives is considering a nonbinding resolution calling on Tokyo to fully acknowledge wrongdoing and make an unambiguous apology.
Abe on Monday rebuffed criticism in the U.S. media for his efforts to champion the cause of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean agents decades ago, while refusing to own up to Japan's own past kidnappings.
"(North Korea's) abductions and the comfort women issue are a completely different matter," Abe told reporters. "The issue of the abductees is an ongoing violation of human rights, while it is not as if the comfort women issue is continuing."
Abe had said previously he would not offer a fresh apology, saying Tokyo expressed its remorse in a 1993 statement on the matter by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono. Right-wing politicians who make up the bulk of Abe's support base have made renewed efforts in recent weeks to roll back that apology.
Japan has rejected most compensation claims from victims. Instead, a private fund created in 1995 by the Japanese government has provided a way for Tokyo to support former sex slaves without offering official government compensation.
Many women rejected the payments, demanding government compensation and a parliament-approved apology.