China tells Japan to face up to sex-slave crimes

BEIJING, March 6 (Reuters) Japan must face up to its past in forcing Asian women to have sex with Japanese soldiers during World War Two, China's foreign minister said today.

''The forced use of so-called 'comfort women' was one of the most serious crimes committed by the Japanese imperialists in World War Two,'' Li Zhaoxing told a news conference on the sidelines of China's annual meeting of parliament.

''Comfort women'' is a euphemism for wartime sex slaves.

''I think the Japanese government should recognise historical facts, and should accept the responsibility to earnestly and appropriately deal with this problem,'' Li said.

''I think facing up to history ought to be a powerful force of progress, and should not become baggage holding them back,'' he added.

''The truth is the always the simplest thing. Taking history as a mirror and looking forward, is the simplest, most realistic way of solving the problem,'' Li add, repeating the line China often takes with Japan.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stirred fresh anger last week with comments that there was no evidence to validate claims that Asian women, many of them from Korea, were coerced into serving as sex slaves for the Japanese army.

REUTERS MS PM1455