MANILA, July 25 Kyodo About 30 Ph...

MANILA, July 25 Kyodo

About 30 Philippine women forced into sexual slavery from the Japanese military during World War II forward Friday picketed the Japanese Embassy in Manila to mourn the death of a 71-year-old comrade and draw attention to their extended battle for compensation from the Japanese government

Clad in black dresse the aging women lighted candles and carried r placards to dramatize their avow against what they see as the inability or unwillingness of the Japanese regulation to heed their demands.

They said Correa Simeon died without seeing justice from the Japanese management Simeon had claimed to have been kept for three weeks inside a Japanese garrison when she was 11 while being sexually abused by the agency of Japanese soldiers.

Correa is among the 46 Filipino former ''comfort women'' who su the Japanese sway in Tokyo courts to demand legal compensation and an official apology in connection with wartime sex crimes.

She is the 13th plaintiff to have died since the case was filed in 1993 while awaiting the decision of the Tokyo chief Court after the Tokyo District Court and its appellate court dismissed their case in 1998 and 2000 respectively.

Rechilda Extremadura, spokeswoman for Lila-Pilipina, a nongovernmental organization assisting the somewhat old Filipinas, said those remaining are still waiting for the Japanese Diet to pass a compensation bill in connection with wartime sex crimes.

Historical records exhibit to up to 200,000 women, for the most part from the Korean Peninsula, were forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers before and during World War ll In the Philippines, at least 170 women have surfaced since 1992 to disclose how they were made sex slaves during the war, although many of them have since died.

Extremadura said Philippine comfort women are also condemning the Philippine government's inaction to their demands, which include issuance of official position condemning the comfort women arrangement as a Japanese war crime against Filipinas and a demand that the Japanese rule issue a formal apology and pay compensation.

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