'Allied soldiers raped women' after D-Day

Allied soldiers liberating France during World War II raped French women after pushing back the Germans, a Japanese politician has claimed, as Tokyo comes under pressure over its wartime system of sex slavery.

Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Japan's third largest city Osaka who was once seen as a future prime minister, argued in a weekend speech that Japan must admit its own historical wrongdoings while also pointing out the mistakes of others, the Mainichi Shimbun said.

"After landing in Normandy, allied soldiers raped French women. 'Comfort stations' were built after things became too much," he said in the speech, using a euphemism for brothels, according to the newspaper.

"It is a historical fact. It is an unfortunate past. We must never repeat it," he said.

The comment is the latest instance of a right-wing politician jumping feet-first into the sensitive topic of the Japanese use of coerced prostitution during World War II, which saw thousands of women forced to work in brothels.

Japan has officially apologized for the system and maintains that a treaty normalizing ties with South Korea decades ago settled the issue.

But Seoul and Pyongyang continue to say Tokyo is not contrite enough - a stance that is reinforced every time a senior politician equivocates or attempts to play down the subject.

Conservatives, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, feel Japan is unfairly singled out for wrongs that were more widespread than their accusers admit.

However, historians agree that while there were rapes by allied soldiers in Normandy, there is no generally accepted evidence of officially sanctioned sex attacks by any military during World War II, other than the Japanese.

"Europeans and Americans say 'Japanese used sex slaves'. We have to educate Japanese who would be able to argue and reply to them, 'We were wrong, but you were wrong as well'," Hashimoto said, according to the Mainichi.

Hashimoto is well known for stirring controversy. Critics suggest he is playing to a narrow but vocal domestic gallery with little regard for international implications.

(China Daily 06/17/2014 page11)