Japan’s Kyodo News says 68 nongovernmental organizations (NGO) have jointly denounced Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s controversial remarks about wartime sex slaves.

In a joint statement, 68 NGOs condemned Hashimoto’s remarks about justifying wartime sexual slavery and said that the Japanese government failed to devise ways to provide compensation to the victims.

The NGOs then called on Tokyo to officially apologize for Hashimoto’s remarks and acknowledge that wartime sex slavery was a serious violation of human rights.

The NGOs that issued the statement included civic groups of 20 countries as well as Amnesty International.