The paper says not all comfort women were sex slaves, and not all Korean workers forced into labour \u2013 sparking anger among staff and readersThe move comes amid concern over rightwing pressure to change perceptions of Japan\u2019s actions in the second world war<\/b>
\nJapan\u2019s oldest English-language newspaper has sparked anger among staff and readers after revising its descriptions of wartime sex slaves \u2013 also known as \u201ccomfort women\u201d \u2013 and forced labourers from the Korean peninsula.
In a decision that critics said aligned it with the conservative agenda of the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, The Japan Times said that it had used terms \u201cthat could have been potentially misleading\u201d when reporting on the contentious subjects.
It was the latest media row about how to define notorious parts of Japan\u2019s wartime record.
The paper, which marked its 120th anniversary last year, said in an editor\u2019s note carried in Friday\u2019s edition that it would alter its description of the so-called comfort women \u2013 a euphemism for tens of thousands of girls and women, mainly from the Korean peninsula, who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels before and during the war.
The paper noted that it had previously described the victims as \u201cwomen who were forced to provide sex for Japanese troops before and during second world war\u201d.
But it added: \u201cBecause the experiences of comfort women in different areas throughout the course of the war varied widely, from today, we will refer to \u2018comfort women\u2019 as \u2018women who worked in wartime brothels, including those who did so against their will, to provide sex to Japanese soldiers\u2019.\u201d
The Japan Times, whose motto is \u201call the news without fear or favour\u201d, said it would also alter ditch the commonly used term \u201cforced labour\u201d to describe Koreans who were made to work in Japanese mines and factories during Japan\u2019s 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.
South Korea says there were nearly 150,000 victims of wartime forced labour, 5,000 of whom are alive.
The Japan Times said: \u201cThe term \u2018forced labour\u2019 has been used to refer to labourers who were recruited before and during second world war to work for Japanese companies. However, because the conditions they worked under or how these workers were recruited varied, we will henceforth refer to them as \u2018wartime labourers\u2019.\u201d
That explanation appeared at the foot of an article about the South Korean Supreme Court\u2019s decision this week to order Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to compensate 10 former forced labourers.
The ruling, and a similar decision last month, have soured ties between Tokyo and Seoul, with Japan \u2019s foreign minister, Tar\u014d K\u014dno, calling them \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d.
Reporters and editors at the paper\u2019s Tokyo headquarters greeted the decision with a mixture of anger and consternation. \u201cPeople are pretty angry about the change and the fact that we were not consulted,\u201d a Japan Times employee said.
The revision has added to concern that sections of the media are bowing to pressure from rightwing politicians and activists to rewrite Japan\u2019s wartime history and portray its actions on the Asian mainland in a more favourable light.
That movement has gathered pace since 2014, when the liberal Asahi newspaper retracted articles about wartime sex slaves it had run in the 1980s and \u201990s that it admitted had been based on false testimony by Seiji Yoshida, a former soldier.
Campaigners pointed out that Yoshida\u2019s discredited testimony did not in itself disprove the existence of wartime sex slaves.
Two months later, the Yomiuri newspaper, a conservative broadsheet with a daily circulation of more than 10 million, apologised for its previous use of the term \u201csex slaves\u201d in its English-language edition. The Yomiuri said it would instead use the more ambiguous wording \u201cso-called comfort women\u201d.
Editors in the English-language division of Japan\u2019s public broadcaster NHK are banned from using the term \u201csex slaves\u201d and must instead refer to them as \u201cpeople referred to as wartime comfort women\u201d.
The Japan Times \u2019 editorial shift comes soon after South Korea said it would dissolve a Japanese-funded foundation to support survivors, sparking outrage in Tokyo. The move, which effectively killed a 2015 agreement to settle the countries\u2019 impasse over sexual slavery, drew an immediate rebuke from Japan.
The Japan Times has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n