San Francisco, July 21, (People’s Daily Online)——San Francisco Council on Tuesday gathered opinions on erecting a monument or statue to honor the comfort women during World War II.

This item is the 72nd among other 73 ones which mainly discuss whether the resolution urging the city and county of San Francisco to establish a memorial for comfort women should be adopted or not. Before the meeting started, more than 20 Japanese Americans took the the front seats for public at the regular meeting held in City Hall.

Sankei Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper reported Monday that the resolution was proposed by eight members of the eleven-person San Francisco Board of Supervisors, adding that District 1 Representative Eric Mar read the proposal at a board meeting on July 14.

It reported that the adoption of a resolution requires the unanimous vote of all 11 representatives, Sankei said it was likely to be passed. However, even if it fails to pass a first vote, the resolution can be put up again through a review process and can be adopted if a majority of the members vote in favor.

After some Japanese Americans read the news, they went to the meeting today opposing the resolution. US China Press, a local newspaper in America reported that some council members who show their supports may change their minds under the pressure from Japanese organizations.

The proposal will be voted next week at the city’s council meeting. Even though the resolution gains full support, setting up the statue is not an immediate move. Actually, one Chinese American group established a preparatory committee last August to promote the activity. They even launched a petition in March this year to call for supports to erect a statue in San Francisco Chinatown.

The proposal has also won supports from local South Korea organizations. During Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s visit to the United States in April, hundreds of protesters from Chinese and Korea organizations demanded Abe to make an apology and stop distorting the history.

Joon Kee, a Stanford University student who comes from South Korea told the reporter when he protested on April 30 that“Japanese government’s attitude towards the comfort women should change. We want the Prime Minister to take historical responsibility for the comfort women.”