British media report that Japan's Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s remarks about wartime sex slavery are angering neighboring countries.

The Guardian reported that Hashimoto's defensive comments about wartime sex slavery raised ire in neighboring countries that have painful historical wounds from Japan’s invasions and colonial rule.

BBC also reported Hashimoto, a prominent politician, raised controversy by saying that the wartime sex slaves euphemistically known as "comfort women” were necessary for Japanese soldiers to “rest.” BBC noted that Japanese ministers have since tried to distance themselves from Hashimoto's remarks.

The Telegraph said that Hashimoto’s reckless remarks enraged neighboring countries that have criticized Japan for failing to reflect on its past wrongdoings. It quoted historians saying that some 200-thousand women in territories occupied by Japan were forced into sex slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War Two.