U.S. congressman Mike Honda said Friday that peace and prosperity can only take root in Asia if Japan apologizes for its wartime sexual enslavement of South Korean and other Asian women.
   
Rep. Honda (D-CA), who is of Japanese descent, is known for speaking out against Japan's coercion of Asian women, mostly Koreans, into sexual slavery during World War II. In 2007, he spearheaded an effort to pass a landmark resolution condemning Japan's sex slavery in the U.S. House of Representatives.
   
"My message is very simple. Peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region cannot be realized until the government of Japan fully accounts for its history and justice for sex slaves of World War II," Honda told a forum on peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia in Seoul.
  
Historians estimate that up to 200,000 Korean and other Asian women were forced into sexual servitude for Japan's soldiers. Only 54 victims remain alive in South Korea, with their average age standing at 88, according to official data.
  
He said the issue has gained urgency as the victims are dying off and that his patience is wearing thin, pressing Japan to immediately atone for its wartime atrocities.
  
"My patience for securing justice for the dignity of surviving grandmothers or 'halmoni' is running low," Honda said, referring to the Korean word for grandmother.
  

Honda urged Japan to show "maturity" as a democratic country by apologizing, saying it is the only way that Tokyo can earn the trust of other countries in Asia.
   
Honda, a former high school science teacher, also stressed the importance of education in helping people learn lessons from the mistakes of the past.
   
"I believe education is the most powerful tool and investment that we can provide to our children. Education also means being able to teach others so that they can learn from our mistakes and flourish," he added.
  
Honda arrived in Seoul Wednesday for a five-day visit to meet with government officials to discuss the Seoul-Washington alliance and the situation in Northeast Asia.
   
He also plans to visit a shelter for former sex slaves in Gwangju, located about 28 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)