Chairman Royce visits the Comfort Women memorial

Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) issued the following statement in support of the California appellate court ruling, which dismissed a lawsuit demanding the removal of a memorial dedicated to Comfort Women:

“I am very pleased that Glendale’s memorial dedicated to Comfort Women will remain in place.  It sends a strong message that we remember and recognize the victims.  By remembering the past we help ensure these atrocities are never committed again.

“That is why I have worked to shine a light on one of the worst cases of human trafficking in the 20th century, in which hundreds of thousands of women, mainly from Korea, were forced into sexual slavery by Imperial Japan during World War II.  It is very important that everyone, especially Japan, recognize this dark history.”

NOTE: Chairman Royce was a leading co-sponsor of the house-passed Comfort Women resolution (H. Res. 121), which calls for an apology from Japan.  Royce also helped organize a congressional hearing at which several Comfort Women told of their suffering.

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