A girl statue symbolizing the victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery was erected in an Italian beachfront city on Saturday.

The statue was unveiled to the public in Stintino, a small city on the Italian island of Sardinia, on Saturday morning in a ceremony with local politicians and representatives of civic groups in attendance. 

The Stintino statue is the second to be installed on public land in Europe after the first one was set up in Berlin, Germany. 

The Japanese government reportedly protested against the erection of the peace statue. According to the Italian L'Unione Sarda newspaper, Japanese Ambassador to Italy Suzuki Satoshi visited Mayor Rita Vallbella of Stintino City on Thursday, calling on the city to postpone the unveiling of the statue. The ambassador reportedly protested against the statue, claiming that the inscription was not true. 

The mayor reportedly rejected the call while recognizing the need to verify the content of the inscription. The mayor, however, is said to have stressed that people need to focus on the violence inflicted on women during the war. 

The inscription of the memorial says that the Japanese Imperial Army forcibly took many young girls and women in the Asia and Pacific region to provide sexual services to their soldiers during World War Two and the statue is a symbol for remembering the victims.