The apology comes after Mr Abe was criticised by Asian neighbours for previous comments casting doubt on whether the women were coerced¹.

 

Mr Abe told parliament: "I apologise here and now as prime minister."

 

This appears to be part of a concerted bid to reduce the fall-out of earlier comments, a BBC correspondent says.

 

Mr Abe said, during a debate in parliament's upper house, that he stood by an official 1993 statement in which Japan acknowledged the imperial army set up and ran brothels for its troops during the war.

 

"As I frequently say, I feel sympathy for the people who underwent hardships, and I apologise for the fact that they were placed in this situation at the time," he said.

 

His statement has gone a little further than similar attempts to clarify his position two weeks ago, but is unlikely to satisfy all his critics abroad, the BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says.

 

The row over his comments have compounded the difficulties facing Mr Abe. His six-month premiership has already been rocked by a series of scandals and gaffes².

 

An opinion poll on Monday found public support for him - Japan's youngest ever prime minister - had shrunk to just 35%.

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