Shinzō Abe 2007 commented for instance: What part of 'Japanese Army sex slaves' does Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, have so much trouble understanding and apologizing for? ... These were not commercial brothels. Force, explicit and implicit, was used in recruiting these women. What went on in them was serial rape, not prostitution. The Japanese Army's involvement is documented in the government's own defense files. A senior Tokyo official more or less apologized for this horrific crime in 1993 ... Yesterday, [Abe] grudgingly acknowledged the 1993 quasi-apology, but only as part of a pre-emptive declaration that his government would reject the call,
Holy See–Japan relations Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014, and Prince Akishino in 2016. Holy See–Japan relations The relations between the Holy See and Japan were informally established in 1919, when the Japanese government accepted a request by the Holy See to send an apostolic delegate to their country. It was not until 1942 that Japan began full diplomatic relations between the two states, making Japan the first Asian country to do so, and not until 1958 that the Japanese mission to the Vatican in Rome was upgraded to an embassy. The decision was made by Emperor Showa during World War II, hoping that