Speeches were made by Kang Jong Gu, director of the Institute for Peaceful Unification Studies of south Korea, and Kenju Watanabe, co-representative of the National Network of the Japan-South Korea People's Solidarity, and others at the seminar.

The speakers accused Japanese media of turning away from Japan's blood-stained history of aggression against Korea, whitewashing the wars of aggression launched by Japan and giving wide publicity to them.

Japan is obliged not only to redeem the crimes it committed during the past colonial rule over Korea but to own the responsibility for the division of the Korean Peninsula, they held.

We cannot but be disillusioned with Japan escalating the anti-DPRK smear campaign under the pretext of tensions on the Korean Peninsula running high over the "Cheonan" warship sinking case, the speakers said, lashing out at the Japanese authorities for pursuing the reactionary policy as evidenced by the participation of troops of the "Self-Defense Forces" in the U.S.-south Korea joint war exercises and the exclusion of Korean schools from the tuition-waiver program for senior high schools.

Dismissing such actions as absolutely unpardonable acts, they urged the Japanese government to make sincere apology and reparation to the Korean nation for Japan's past crimes and come out for peace in the Korean Peninsula and the rest of Northeast Asia.

108 women religionists of south Korea released a declaration on August 13 demanding apology and reparation for the sexual slavery enforced by the Japanese imperialists in the past.