Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto has indicated he may not honor his predecessor’s promise to apologize to the 100,000 or more women forced into brothels run by the Imperial Army in World War II. After refusing to assist the women who were kidnapped and forced to have sex with 20 or more soldiers a day, the Japanese government started a private fund last July to make payments to the women. However, the “Asian Women’s Fund” has only raised $3.5 million in private donations, far short of the $10-20 million that was expected. Many of the women victims of the wartime atrocities have denounced the fund entirely and called for the government to compensate the women directly. Mutsuko Miki, the most prominent backer of the private fund, recently resigned from the panel after her meeting with Hashimoto earlier this month. Miki said Hashimoto indicated to her that he would not apologize to the women
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