Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama said the government needs to continue providing support for the former wartime sex slaves after the semigovernmental fund he heads to pay compensation to them closes March 31.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20070307a4a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='178'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Philippine women stage a rally Tuesday outside the Japanese Embassy here to denounce Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over his claim that there is no evidence that the Imperial army forced them and tens of thousands of others into sexual slavery during the war. </B> AP PHOTO</FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>'I don't think our projects -- providing atonement money, and medical and welfare support as well as sending letters of apology from the prime minister -- will not cure the damage that those women received,' Murayama, 83, said. 'I will ask the government to provide them with further care.'</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>A government initiative when Murayama was prime minister in 1995 created the nonprofit Asian Women's Fund. It has paid out 1.7 billion yen to only about 360 former sex slaves and into projects for them. Murayama said the group has completed all of its projects in Indonesia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Of the up to 200,000 mostly Asian women historians say were forced into frontline brothels for the Imperial Japanese Army in the 1930s and 1940s, many refused to accept any of the money because the fund was not an official state organ and the portion deemed 'atonement' money did not come from the government.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The issue of the 'comfort women' has recently been thrust back into the public spotlight.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers submitted a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 31 calling on Japan's prime minister to issue a formal apology to the women for forcing them into frontline brothels in the 1930s and 1940s. </PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that Japan does not need to apologize to the women as it had already apologized in a government statement issued in 1993.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Abe also stirred up anger last week when he said that, although he stood by the 1993 statement, he claimed there was no proof the women had been coerced into the brothels.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Not commenting directly on the Abe's remarks, Murayama said: 'Prime Minister Abe said he will stand by then Chief Cabinet Secretary –

Kono's statement (in 1993). I trust it. I'm not in a position to say" anything about Abe's remarks.

The government's 1993 statement, read by Kono, included an apology for forcing foreign women into sexual servitude.

During the 12 years the fund was operating, it received 565 million yen in private donations to compensate the former sex slaves and 750 million yen from the government, which was only to pay for social-assistance programs, including medical care.

It said approximately 285 women from the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan who are recognized as former sex slaves by their governments received 2 million yen each in compensation. In addition, Filipino women received an additional 1.2 million yen each for what the fund calls "medical and welfare support," and South Koreans and Taiwanese got 3 million yen each.