Japan politicians shrug off likely US call for apology over WWII use of sex slaves News
Japan politicians shrug off likely US call for apology over WWII use of sex slaves

[JURIST] After initial expressions of concern and regret [JURIST report], several top Japanese politicians said over the weekend they would ignore a proposed US House of Representatives resolution [text; H Res 121 summary] calling for Japan to apologize to "comfort women" used by the Japanese army as sex slaves during World War II. Hidenao Nakagawa [official profile], secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party [official website], and Foreign Minister Taro Aso [official website] both shrugged off the resolution as a shrewd political move to strain political relations between Japan and the US. Aso said he believes either North Korea or China were the motivating force behind the resolution's creation.

The resolution urges Japan to apologize to women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II. The "comfort women" [Amnesty International backgrounder] include almost 200,000 Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Taiwanese and Philippine women the Japanese enslaved to serve their soldiers in army brothels. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.