Hashimoto marks war deaths

The Japanese Prime Minister, Ryutaro Hashimoto, laid a wreath at a monument to Dutch victims of Japan's Second World War occupation of the Dutch East Indies. Mr Hashimoto, who was in the Netherlands to attend the annual summit meeting between Japan and the European Union, placed the white floral wreath on a stand, stepped back and made two solemn bows.

Dutch historians estimate that almost 20,000 Dutch civilians and prisoners of war perished in Japanese detention camps, while about 200 Dutch women and girls were kept as sex slaves.

Reuters - The Hague