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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in January 1994 at the parliament building in Tokyo shows Liberal Democratic Party leader Yohei Kono (L) shaking hands with Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in Tokyo on Aug. 4, 2016, shows Yohei Kono speaking during an interview. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in November 2015 shows Yohei Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels. He died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in August 1993 at the prime minister's office in Tokyo shows Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono issuing an official statement acknowledging the Japanese military's responsibility for the forced labor of Korean "comfort women" in Japan's wartime military brothels, and announcing the government's landmark apology for the issue. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in June 1994 at the parliament building in Tokyo shows (from R) Liberal Democratic Party leader Yohei Kono, Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama of the Japan Socialist Party and New Party Sakigake leader Masayoshi Takemura shaking hands before a meeting to form the Cabinet of their new coalition government. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in July 1993 at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo shows Yohei Kono (L) following his victory in the party's presidential election. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken on July 5, 2023, shows Yohei Kono (L), leader of a delegation from the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in September 2005 shows Yohei Kono (L) and his son Taro pointing at their nameplates as they arrived at the parliament building in Tokyo following a general election of the Japanese House of Representatives. Yohei Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in Tokyo on March 23, 2025, shows Yohei Kono (L), former speaker of the Japanese House of Representatives, posing for a photo with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in Tokyo on July 21, 2009, shows Japanese House of Representatives speaker Yohei Kono announcing the dissolution of the lower house during its plenary session. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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Former Japanese lower house speaker Kono dies

File photo taken in July 1994 shows Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono (R) chatting with Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama ahead of a Cabinet meeting at the premier's office in Tokyo. Kono, former speaker of the House of Representatives, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" who were forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, died on June 8, 2026, aged 89.

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"Comfort women" statue in Seoul

Members of a South Korean citizens' group rally on Feb. 11, 2026, in front of a statue in Seoul symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, calling on the Japanese government to apologize.

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"Comfort women" statue in Seoul

Members of a South Korean citizens' group rally on Feb. 11, 2026, in front of a statue in Seoul symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, calling on the Japanese government to apologize.

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"Comfort women" statue in Seoul

Members of a South Korean citizens' group rally on Feb. 11, 2026, in front of a statue in Seoul symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, calling on the Japanese government to apologize.

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China Daily raps Japan PM Takaichi for recent Taiwan comments

Photo taken in Beijing on Nov. 24, 2025, shows the Nov. 24 edition of China's state-owned English-language newspaper China Daily satirically portraying Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi standing in front of a mirror and projecting herself as wartime Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. The paper branded Takaichi's recent remarks on Taiwan as "the militarist's path to revival."

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"Comfort women" statue removed in Berlin

Photo taken in Berlin on Oct. 17, 2025, shows the site where a statue representing so-called "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels had stood. Local authorities removed the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, earlier in the day, as the group had defied their order to transfer it from public land to nearby private land.

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Wartime Japan PM Koiso's government inaugurated

Cabinet ministers under the government of wartime Japanese Prime Minister Gen. Kuniaki Koiso (1st row, 2nd from R) pose for a photo at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on July 22, 1944, following its inauguration.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

Photo taken on Oct. 7, 2025, shows a statue representing so-called "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels on public land in Berlin. Members of a South Korean citizens' group rallied near the statue the same day, calling for its preservation in defiance of authorities' order to remove it by the day.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

People march near a statue (not pictured) representing so-called "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels during a rally in Berlin on Oct. 7, 2025, calling for its preservation in defiance of authorities' order to remove it by the same day. The statue was erected on public land by a South Korean citizens' group in 2020.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

People pose for a photo on Aug. 14, 2025, surrounding a statue symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, erected on publicly owned land in Berlin, ahead of the 80th anniversary the following day of Japan's surrender in World War II. Authorities have urged that the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, be moved to nearby private land, a proposal repeatedly rejected by the group.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

People stand on Aug. 14, 2025, by a statue symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, erected on publicly owned land in Berlin, ahead of the 80th anniversary the following day of Japan's surrender in World War II. Authorities have urged that the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, be moved to nearby private land, a proposal repeatedly rejected by the group.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

People stand on Aug. 14, 2025, by a statue symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, erected on publicly owned land in Berlin, ahead of the 80th anniversary the following day of Japan's surrender in World War II. Authorities have urged that the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, be moved to nearby private land, a proposal repeatedly rejected by the group.

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[Breaking News]Protest rally in Manila over "comfort" women

MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 14 Kyodo - Members of a group supporting former "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels in the Philippines rally in Manila on Aug. 14, 2025, seeking the Japanese government's apology to the women, now estimated at fewer than 10. (Kyodo)

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

Photo taken on Aug. 14, 2025, shows a statue symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels on publicly owned land in Berlin, a day ahead of the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. Authorities have urged that the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, be moved to nearby private land, a proposal repeatedly rejected by the group.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

People lay flowers on Aug. 14, 2025, at a statue symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, erected on publicly owned land in Berlin, ahead of the 80th anniversary the following day of Japan's surrender in World War II. Authorities have urged that the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, be moved to nearby private land, a proposal repeatedly rejected by the group.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

People lay flowers on Aug. 14, 2025, at a statue symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, erected on publicly owned land in Berlin, ahead of the 80th anniversary the following day of Japan's surrender in World War II. Authorities have urged that the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, be moved to nearby private land, a proposal repeatedly rejected by the group.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

People lay flowers on Aug. 14, 2025, at a statue symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, erected on publicly owned land in Berlin, ahead of the 80th anniversary the following day of Japan's surrender in World War II. Authorities have urged that the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, be moved to nearby private land, a proposal repeatedly rejected by the group.

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Protest rally in Manila over "comfort" women

Members of a group supporting former "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels in the Philippines rally in Manila on Aug. 14, 2025, seeking the Japanese government's apology to the women, now estimated at fewer than 10.

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Protest rally in Manila over "comfort" women

Members of a group supporting former "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels in the Philippines rally in Manila on Aug. 14, 2025, seeking the Japanese government's apology to the women, now estimated at fewer than 10.

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Day to remember "comfort women" in Seoul

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (in screen) speaks in a video message projected at a ceremony in Seoul on Aug. 14, 2025, a day commemorating "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels.

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Right-wing rally in Seoul

A right-wing group stages a protest in Seoul on July 23, 2025, against the removal of a statue (R) symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels.

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Right-wing rally in Seoul

A right-wing group stages a protest in Seoul on July 23, 2025, against the removal of a statue (R) symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels.

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Right-wing rally in Seoul

A right-wing group stages a protest in Seoul on July 23, 2025, against the removal of a statue (C) symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels.

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Right-wing rally in Seoul

A right-wing group stages a protest in Seoul on July 23, 2025, against the removal of a statue (C) symbolizing "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels.

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"Comfort women" statue in Berlin

Photo taken on July 8, 2025, shows a statue symbolizing "comfort women," forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, on publicly owned land in Berlin. Authorities recently urged that the statue, erected by a South Korean-related citizens' group in 2020, be moved to nearby private land, a proposal rejected by the group.

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Survivors of Wartime Sexual Slavery Still Await Justice - Philippines

Survivors of Filipina comfort women gather in a small courtyard to denounce unspeakable atrocities at the hands of Japanese invaders during World War II, in Mapanique of Candaba, Pampanga province, the Philippines, July 6, 2025. TO GO WITH "Feature: Survivors of wartime sexual slavery still await justice" Photo by Xinhua/Nie Xiaoyang/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Survivors of Wartime Sexual Slavery Still Await Justice - Philippines

Survivors of Filipina comfort women gather in a small courtyard to denounce unspeakable atrocities at the hands of Japanese invaders during World War II, in Mapanique of Candaba, Pampanga province, the Philippines, July 6, 2025. TO GO WITH "Feature: Survivors of wartime sexual slavery still await justice" Photo by Xinhua/Nie Xiaoyang/ABACAPRESS.COM

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California baseball event at WWII-era camp

A baseball event is held on Oct. 26, 2024, at the site of the Manzanar incarceration camp in Independence, California, to raise awareness of the experiences of Japanese Americans interned there during World War II. Four teams from Japanese American baseball leagues in the state played on a field restored to its wartime condition under a U.S. National Park Service project at the historic site in the desert near the Nevada border.

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California baseball event at WWII-era camp

A baseball event is held on Oct. 26, 2024, at the site of the Manzanar incarceration camp in Independence, California, to raise awareness of the experiences of Japanese Americans interned there during World War II. Four teams from Japanese American baseball leagues in the state played on a field restored to its wartime condition under a U.S. National Park Service project at the historic site in the desert near the Nevada border.

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California baseball event at WWII-era camp

A baseball event is held on Oct. 26, 2024, at the site of the Manzanar incarceration camp in Independence, California, to raise awareness of the experiences of Japanese Americans interned there during World War II. Four teams from Japanese American baseball leagues in the state played on a field restored to its wartime condition under a U.S. National Park Service project at the historic site in the desert near the Nevada border.

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Yasukuni shrine

Koichi Hagiuda, former policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks to the press after visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, viewed by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of its past militarism due to the enshrinement of wartime leaders convicted as war criminals alongside the some 2.4 million Japanese war dead honored at the shrine, on Aug. 15, 2024, the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II.

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Yasukuni shrine

Former Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato (R) and former Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Norihisa Tamura visit Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, viewed by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of its past militarism due to the enshrinement of wartime leaders convicted as war criminals alongside the some 2.4 million Japanese war dead honored at the shrine, on Aug. 15, 2024, the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II.

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Yasukuni shrine

A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers visit Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, seen by Asian neighbors as a symbol of the country's past militarism for enshrining war dead as well as the country's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals, on the 79th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 2024.

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Yasukuni shrine

A cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers visit Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, seen by Asian neighbors as a symbol of the country's past militarism for enshrining war dead as well as the country's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals, on the 79th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 2024.

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Yasukuni shrine

Former Japanese economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi visits Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, seen by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of its past militarism as it honors the souls of Japan's more than 2.4 million war dead as well as the country's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals, on Aug. 15, 2024, the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II.

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Yasukuni shrine

Japanese economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, seen by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of its past militarism as it honors the souls of Japan's more than 2.4 million war dead as well as the country's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals, on Aug. 15, 2024, the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II.

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Yasukuni shrine

Former Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visits Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, seen by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of its past militarism as it honors the souls of Japan's more than 2.4 million war dead as well as the country's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals, on Aug. 15, 2024, the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II.

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Yasukuni shrine

Japanese economic revitalization minister Yoshitaka Shindo visits Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, seen by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of its past militarism as it honors the souls of Japan's more than 2.4 million war dead as well as the country's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals, on Aug. 15, 2024, the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II.

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Yasukuni shrine

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara visits Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, seen by Japan's Asian neighbors as a symbol of its past militarism as it honors the souls of Japan's more than 2.4 million war dead as well as the country's wartime leaders convicted as war criminals, on Aug. 15, 2024, the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II.

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Protest over "comfort women" issue in Seoul

A protest is held for the resolution of the issue of "comfort women," a euphemistic term for women from the Korean Peninsula and elsewhere forced to work at wartime Japanese military brothels, in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Aug. 14, 2024, the memorial day for Korean "comfort women."