( CNN ) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Thursday apologized to South Korea for the more than three decades when Japan ruled over Korea , calling the time a `` tragic incident . '' Okada made the rare apology during a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan , Korean state-run media reported . `` I believe it was a tragic incident for Koreans when they were deprived of their nation and their identity , '' Okada said , according to the Yonhap news agency . `` I can fully understand the feelings of ( Koreans ) who were deprived of their identity and nation . I believe we must never forget the victims , '' he added . Japan controlled Korea from 1910 to 1945 . During that time , Japan 's military is accused of forcing about 200,000 women , mainly from Korea and China , to serve as sex slaves . They were known as `` comfort women '' for soldiers in Japan 's Imperial Army . There have been street protests and lawsuits in that past in South Korea over the sufferings of the comfort women . At least one other Japanese leader has apologized for the era . In 2001 , then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi acknowledged the `` enormous damage '' inflicted by Japan 's military `` by colonization and invasion . ''
Japan 's Foreign Minister Katsuya Tanaka apologizes to S. Korea for Japan 's rule over Korea . He calls period from 1910 to 1945 when Japan ruled over Korea a ` ` tragic incident '' Japan 's military accused of using women , mainly from Korea and China , as sex slaves . In 2001 , then - President Jun Koizumi acknowledged atrocities committed by Japan 's military .