Merkel calls on Japan to settle sex slavery dispute

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Japan to resolve issues surrounding Tokyo's system of wartime sex slavery. She made the appeal while meeting Katsuya Okada, head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan early Tuesday.

Merkel said Tokyo should go ahead with reconciliation over the issue. Up to 200-thousand women, many from South Korea, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines, were forced to serve in Japanese military brothels during World War Two. Relations between Japan, and China and South Korea, are at a low point. Both countries are demanding Tokyo to do more to atone for its past.

Merkel also visited truck manufacturer Mitsubishi Fuso, which is nearly 90 percent controlled by German auto giant Daimler. She toured the assembly line in Kawasaki, the last stop on her two-day itinerary. Merkel is scheduled to leave for Berlin this afternoon.