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Following the recent signing of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan, the deputy press secretary of Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has once again extended its government's apology to the victims of sex slavery during World War II.

In a television interview, Kaneko Mariko reiterated that Japan "fully recognizes the dignity and honor" of the former comfort women.

"We fully recognize the dignity and honor of those former comfort women who were injured and to that the government of Japan has been extending, expressing apologies and deep remorse for those actions during the war," she said.

Kaneko also noted that the reparation for the victims of Japanese invasion during the Second World War was already settled through the San Francisco Peace Treaty that was signed in 1951.

During the signing of the RAA, around 30 members of various groups including the descendants of former comfort women staged their protest in front of the Japan Embassy in Pasay City. The group of Lila Pilipina reiterated their demand for the Japanese government to provide reparation for the victims of sex slavery during World War II.

On March 8, 2023 the United Nations Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) found that the Philippines violated the rights of victims of sexual slavery perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War by its failure to provide reparation, social support and recognition commensurate with the harm suffered by the members of Filipino comfort women.

Senator Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Resolution No. 539 to ensure that just and meaningful reparations are given to Filipino comfort women and their families after the Philippines called out by the UN CEDAW.

Just recently, Hontiveros also visited the surviving members of the Malaya Lolas, a group of former comfort women in the province of Pampanga.

In her visit, Hontiveros expressed her commitment to search for the comfort women statue that went missing in 2019 and to preserve the "Bahay na Pula" in San Ildefonso, Bulacan which was used by the Japanese soldiers to perpetrate sexual violence against former comfort women in the province.

Hontiveros also noted the need to remove the Kamikaze pilot statue which according to her is a "hurtful and painful memorialization to the Malaya Lolas". Robina Asido/DMS