Japan politicians to protest at U.S. sex slave vote

TOKYO (Reuters) - Conservative Japanese politicians, scholars and journalists plan to write to U.S. lawmakers urging them to revoke a resolution calling on Tokyo to apologize for forcing women to serve as sex slaves during World War Two.

Arguing that there were no sex slaves and that the women were prostitutes, the group said they were "surprised and shocked" when the U.S. House of Representatives' International Committee passed the non-binding resolution last month.

"At the same time, we cannot help feeling angry and sad," said the group's letter posted on the Internet, seen on Saturday.

"That is because this resolution on the comfort women issue was passed based on wrong information completely divergent from the historical truth," said the letter, to be sent to all members of the House of Representatives.

The House committee's chairman has criticized attempts by conservative Japanese politicians to deny official involvement, including a Washington Post advertisement by lawmakers in June stating that the women had worked as licensed prostitutes.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe caused an uproar in March when he said there was no proof that the government or the military had forced thousands of women, mostly Asians, into sexual servitude.

But he has since apologized to the "comfort women", as the sex slaves are euphemistically known in Japan, and has avoided comment on the U.S. resolution.

Japanese-American lawmaker Michael Honda, who introduced the resolution, was quoted by the Japan Times daily as saying that it would probably pass the full house before the congressional term ended in early August -- around the time of a national election in Japan.

Japan has insisted that its ties with Washington would not be shaken by the resolution, although critics say the issue remains a sensitive one for the two allies.

The group of more than 200 lawmakers, scholars and journalists also submitted the letter to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo on Friday, Kyodo news agency reported.

Historians say thousands of women -- by one estimate as many as 200,000 -- were taken to frontline brothels to provide sex for Japanese soldiers.