In a move deemed as an open-handed slap to Japan, the US House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed a bill which demands an apology from Japan over the "comfort women" issue.

The resolution, passed without a single voice of dissent, pressed the Japanese government to make a formal acknowledgement of its responsibility in the sexual exploitation of "comfort women" by Japanese troops during World War II.

"Today, the House will send a message to the government of Japan that it should deliver an official, unequivocal, unambiguous apology for the indignity the comfort women suffered," said Rep. Mike Honda, (D-Calif.), an American of Japanese descent who sponsored the bill.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) said the H.R. 121 resolution "seeks admission of the horrible truth, in order that this horror may never be perpetrated again.”

Holding up post-war Germany as a contrast, Lantos attacked Japan for its continued promotion of "historical amnesia."

"The world awaits a full reckoning of history from the Japanese government," he added.

Lee Yong-soo, a surviving "comfort woman" who testified before Congress in February, was present as the House voted on the bill.

The Japanese Embassy in Washington had no comment, other than to say that Tokyo would issue an official response later in the day.

The resolution, which was adopted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on June 26, says the "government of Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces' coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as 'comfort women.'"

It also calls for a full and public apology from the Japanese Prime Minister himself and for his government to refute any claims that the episode never happened and to educate future generations about "this horrible crime."

An estimated 200,000 women were forced to serve as sex slaves, known as "comfort women," for Japanese forces during World War II, with most of them being citizens of countries invaded by Japan.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2007)