For many years, the Japanese Government denied the allegation claiming that the women were prostitutes recruited by private brothel operators and that there were no documents implying the comfort women were forcibly recruited. The Japanese government has remained adamant in their refusal to grant compensation to the ex-slaves, despite acknowledging that these women existed during World War II.
In early 1990's, a historian uncovered Japanese military documents that prove conclusively that the Japanese forced Asian women, mostly Koreans, to have sex with Japanese troops since the 1930s up to the end of World War II. The documents carry the person al stamps of Japanese High Command. These documents have forced Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa in 1992 to issue a formal apology to the Korean people. However, Japan continues to refuse to compensate the survivors.