Canada asked Japan Wednesday to apologize to thousands of women forced into military brothels during World War II. Legislators urged Tokyo to apologize formally to the women. The motion also asks that Japan formally acknowledge that over 200,000 Asian women were coerced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army. US and Netherlands passed similar motions. Since Japan officially acknowledged the practice in the 1990s, its leaders have repeatedly apologized for it. But in March, PM Shinzo Abe rekindled the issue by claiming absence of proof of coercion — reflecting right-wing politicians’ view that the issue has been fabricated or exaggerated.