Elderly South Korean women forced by Japan into sex slavery during World War II plan to visit the neighboring country this week to hold rounds of rallies to let the people know of their predecessors’ wrongdoing, a local organization said Wednesday.

Two victims ― 88-year-old Kim Bok-dong and 86-year-old Kil Won-ok ― will head to Japan on Friday to hold street rallies and press conferences to testify about the hardship they were forced to endure, according to the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

They plan to tour seven cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Fukuyama for about two weeks until June 2, the council added.

They are among some 58 surviving victim registered with the South Korean government out of a total of 234 victims who were on the list initially. Most victims are elderly, well over 80 years old, making the issue of resolving their grievances urgent.

Their visit came amid repeated inappropriate remarks by Japanese politicians that distort historical facts. In the latest incident, Toru Hashimoto, Osaka mayor and co-leader of the Japan Restoration Party, said the wartime sex slavery was “necessary,” claiming that other countries also had the system.

Up to 200,000 women, mostly Koreans, were mobilized as sex slaves, euphemistically called “comfort women”, during Japan’s brutal colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

With memories still vivid about the painful history, Japan has ignored Seoul’s call for a formal apology and compensation, and even tried to deny the facts.

“A series of absurd remarks by Japanese politicians has lead this old persons to decide to make the trip. The tour will be tough, but I want to let the Japanese know the truth,” Kim said during a weekly Wednesday demonstration in downtown Seoul.

“Lies cannot last long. I believe the day of Japan’s making an apology will come,” Kil said.

In a statement, the council once again called on Tokyo to apologize to the victims and devise measures to prevent such incidents from happening again, and asked the South Korean government to prioritize the issue of addressing the grievances. (Yonhap News)