IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 226
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of Japan should 
formally issue a clear and unambiguous apology for the sexual enslave-
ment of young women during colonial occupation of Asia and World 
War II, known to the world as ‘‘comfort women’’, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2003
Mr. EVANS (for himself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. HONDA, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDON-
ALD, Ms. LEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. LARSON of Con-
necticut, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. LANTOS, 
Mr. WOLF, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. WATSON, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. 
SCHIFF, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. 
LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. LAMPSON, 
Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. LIPINSKI) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of 
Japan should formally issue a clear and unambiguous 
apology for the sexual enslavement of young women dur-
ing colonial occupation of Asia and World War II, known 
to the world as ‘‘comfort women’’, and for other pur-
poses.
Whereas the Government of Japan during the colonial occu-
pation of Asia and the Pacific Islands during World War 
II organized the subjugation and kidnapping of young
•HCON 226 IH 
women for the sole purpose of sexual servitude, known to 
the world as ‘‘comfort women’’; 
Whereas the enslavement of comfort women was officially 
commissioned and orchestrated by the Government of 
Japan to include gang rape, forced abortions, sexual vio-
lence, human trafficking, and numerous other crimes 
against humanity; 
Whereas the comfort women were girls as young as 13 years 
of age or women separated from their own children; 
Whereas the comfort women were either abducted from their 
homes or lured into sexual servitude under false pre-
tenses; 
Whereas many comfort women were eventually killed or 
forced to commit suicide upon cessation of hostilities; 
Whereas historians conclude that as many as 200,000 women 
were enslaved but very few survive today; 
Whereas the Government of Japan did not fully disclose these 
war crimes during negotiations for reparations with 
former enemies and colonial states and further it did not 
officially acknowledge the crimes until 1994; 
Whereas the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) con-
cluded after a 1993 mission of inquiry that ‘‘these women 
are entitled to the fullest possible relief permissible in 
international law’’; 
Whereas the Government of Japan has not issued state rep-
arations to former comfort women or acknowledged gov-
ernmental responsibility for this crime against humanity; 
and 
Whereas the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence 
against women concludes that a private fund to com-
•HCON 226 IH 
pensate comfort women ‘‘is a clear statement [of the 
Government of Japan] denying legal responsibility for the 
situation of these women and . . . does not vindicate the 
legal claims of comfort women under public international 
law’’: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the Gov-
ernment of Japan—
(1) should formally issue a clear and unambig-
uous apology for the sexual enslavement of young 
women during the colonial occupation of Asia and 
the Pacific Islands during World War II, known to 
the world as ‘‘comfort women’’; 
(2) should immediately pay reparations to the 
victims of these crimes; 
(3) should educate future generations about 
this horrible crime against humanity; and 
(4) should publicly refute claims that the sub-
jugation and enslavement of comfort women never 
occurred.
Æ