--- description: Fumio Kishida said on Monday that women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II should not be called sex slaves title: Japan Foreign Minister: 'Comfort Women' Were Not Sex Slaves image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74690e3e1a34060f/6988797d0b72e3b3ac6e7b33/gettyimages-502680198.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Women Forced to Work in Wartime Brothels Were Not Sex Slaves, Japan's Foreign Minister Says by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2016 9:28 AM CUT  Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida attends a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (not in pictured) on Dec. 28, 2015, in Seoul Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida attends a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (not in pictured) on Dec. 28, 2015, in SeoulChung Sung-Jun—Getty Images by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2016 9:28 AM CUT Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida [said](http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/18/national/politics-diplomacy/japans-foreign-minister-challenges-use-of-sex-slaves-term-for-comfort-women/#.VpyQ6lN95UN "undefined") on Monday that women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II should not be called sex slaves. “The term s_ex slaves_ doesn’t match the facts,” Kishida said according to the _Japan Times_. During World War II, Japan forced thousands of women — euphemistically called comfort women — into military brothels. Most were South Korean; other victims came from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan. Japan and South Korea reached a landmark [settlement](http://time.com/4161946/south-korea-japan-sex-slave-deal/ "undefined") on the issue in December, after decades of diplomatic deadlock. As part of the deal, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologized and Tokyo offered an $8.5 million victim-support fund. \[[_The Japan Times_](http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/18/national/politics-diplomacy/japans-foreign-minister-challenges-use-of-sex-slaves-term-for-comfort-women/#.VpyQ6lN95UN "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4184252/japan-foreign-minister-comfort-women-sex-slaves-south-korea/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4184252/japan-foreign-minister-comfort-women-sex-slaves-south-korea/"},"headline":"Women Forced to Work in Wartime Brothels Were Not Sex Slaves, Japan's Foreign Minister Says","datePublished":"2016-01-18T09:28:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:12:59.888Z","description":"He prefers the term comfort women","url":"https://time.com/4184252/japan-foreign-minister-comfort-women-sex-slaves-south-korea/","keywords":["Japan","South Korea","WWII"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74690e3e1a34060f/6988797d0b72e3b3ac6e7b33/gettyimages-502680198.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74690e3e1a34060f/6988797d0b72e3b3ac6e7b33/gettyimages-502680198.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-502680198","caption":"<> on December 28, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met to discuss the issue of Korean 'comfort women' in Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.","creditText":"Chung Sung-Jun—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4184252/japan-foreign-minister-comfort-women-sex-slaves-south-korea/","name":"Women Forced to Work in Wartime Brothels Were Not Sex Slaves, Japan's Foreign Minister Says"}}]}] ```