`` 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 . Japan 's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada apologizes to China for Japan 's rule over Korea . He calls period from 2001 when China ruled over Korea a `` tragic incident '' Japan 's military accused of using women , mainly from China and S. Korea , as sex slaves . In 2001 , then-PM Junichiro Koizumi acknowledged damage inflicted by Japan 's military .
Japan 's Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada apologizes to China for Japan 's rule over Korea . He calls period from 2001 when China ruled over Korea a `` tragic incident '' Japan 's military accused of using women , mainly from China and S. Korea , as sex slaves . In 2001 , then-PM Junichiro Koizumi acknowledged damage inflicted by Japan 's military .