A U.S. congressman has condemned Japan’s Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s remarks that the use of “comfort women” during World War II was necessary.

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, said on Wednesday during the plenary session of the House that “comfort women” was a “state-sponsored program of sexual brutality” against 200-thousand women during the war.

The Republican Representative said that attempts to deny or justify the existence of “comfort women” are equivalent to denying history. The California congressman said the mayor’s remarks are absolutely outrageous, and it adds insult to injury for survivors and their families.

Earlier this year, Royce expressed his support of a new resolution on “comfort women,” and has shown great interest in the issue.