US House links spending bill to 'comfort women'

The US House of Representatives has for the first time passed a $1 trillion spending bill to which a document is attached, calling for US Secretary of State John Kerry to encourage Japan to address the issue of "comfort women" - women forced to be sex slaves for the Japanese military during World War II, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

Although the bill is not legally binding, its approval has important symbolic meaning because it can exert pressure on Japan to change its historical perception, observers said.

A document attached to the bill for 2014 urges the secretary to encourage the implementation of Resolution 121, which was adopted by the chamber in July 2007.