South Korea on Wednesday observed its official "comfort women" memorial day for a second year, with a ceremony commemorating Korean women who were forced to work in the Japanese military's wartime brothels. The memorial day was marked as relations with Japan have fallen to their lowest point in years due to a number of disputes, including South Korean Supreme Court rulings ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation over wartime labor. "Since last year's memorial day, eight of the victims have passed away and now only 20 of them survive," Gender Equality and Family Minister Jin Sun Mee said in her remarks at the ceremony, vowing efforts to restore the women's dignity and honor. "We will establish the comfort women issue as one of women's human rights and educate a new generation so that it will be remembered as a historical lesson," Jin added.

South Korea - Japan