Four civic groups here on Monday called for top U.S. policymakers and politicians to induce Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to sincerely apologize for his country’s sex slavery and other wartime atrocities in a joint letter.

The dispatch is designed to request the members of U.S. Congress, where the premier is scheduled to deliver an address on Wednesday, to urge him to “voice clearly and publicly” and offer a “heartfelt apology” for Tokyo’s colonial rule and aggression.

The text was written jointly by the Women’s Forum for Peace and Diplomacy, Korean Women’s Bar Association, Civil Peace Forum and People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. It was sent to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, House Speaker John Boehner and seven other Senate and House leaders.

The four organizations criticized Abe’s ongoing attempts to undermine Japan’s responsibility during World War II despite its support for U.N. Security Council resolutions against sexual violence against women during armed conflict.

“Abe is showing a revisionist stance and even attempting to rewrite history,” the letter read. “It is sad and painful to see that the old ladies, the victims of wartime slavery, are passing away one by one without their rights restored nor receiving the reparation to which they are entitled.”

They also expressed concerns over recent calls by political leaders in Washington on Seoul and Tokyo to forge a future-oriented partnership and pursue pragmatic cooperation rather than “dwell on the past.” Without sincere efforts to redress the atrocities, Abe’s speech will send the wrong message to not only East Asia but also the world and dent U.S. leadership, they said.

“If the Japanese government keeps evading truthfully acknowledging and repenting the criminal act of war in the past, it is not only Japan that might fail to exert leadership in promoting peace in the East Asian region, but U.S. leadership may face corresponding challenges,” it added.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)