Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto has issued a statement strongly denying that Korean women were forced to serve as sex slaves during World War Two for Japanese soldiers.

Kyodo News said that Hashimoto told reporters on Tuesday that there is no evidence that Korean women were assaulted or threatened by the Japanese military to serve as sex slaves. He said he would like South Korea to produce evidence of any wrongdoing.

Hashimoto, who opinion polls consider the most suitable choice to be Japan’s next prime minister, made the remarks after being asked about President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to the Dokdo islets earlier this month. He said the issue of wartime sexual slavery lies at the root of the Dokdo issue.

In August 1993, then Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono admitted that the Japanese military was involved in setting up and managing ‘comfort stations’ and the transfer of women who were recruited against their own will to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers.