South Korea’s ambassador to Tokyo has criticized Japan’s Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s recent inflammatory remarks about wartime sex slavery.

In a news conference with Japanese journalists in Tokyo on Wednesday, Ambassador Shin Kak-soo said that Hashimoto’s remarks lack the correct understanding of history and respect for women’s human rights. Shin added that the Osaka mayor’s remarks disappointed him.

The ambassador called on Japanese politicians to look back on the pains of former sex slaves and the human rights of women.

Shin said that the current Japanese government’s move to review and revise Japan’s apologetic "Murayama statement" for its past wrongdoings is unfortunate.