NHK chairman apologizes again for 'comfort women' remarks

Katsuto Momii, chairman of Japan's public broadcaster NHK, apologized again for his wrong comments on "comfort women" when he recorded a TV program, local media reported Monday.

Momii said at his first news conference as the new head of NHK in January that the "comfort women," who were forcibly recruited as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II, can be found in any country and was a reality at wartime.

Regarding this, he explained: "I was not used to press conference at that time, thus stating some personal views during the speech."

He added that he would never reflect individual stance on the broadcast business, saying he has listened to audience's reactions from NHK staff.

Momii is one of several NHK officials who have faced criticism domestically and internationally for their nationalistic views. Naoki Hyakuta, a novelist and member of NHK's decision-making body, even said that the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in China had never happened, and the United States sought to cover up its own "crimes " such as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by holding trials of Japan's wartime leaders.