Japan's Imperial Army has asked the government to provide one of the "comfort women" for every 70 soldiers, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported, citing wartime government documents.
The term "comfort women" is used to describe girls and women, many of them Koreans, who were forced to work in Japanese army brothels during the war, an issue that has affected Japan's relations with South Korea for decades.
A telegram from the Consul General of Qingdao in China's Shandong Province to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said the Japanese Imperial Army had requested one woman for every 70 soldiers, Kyodo said late Friday.
Another telegram from the Consul General of Jinan, also in Shandong province, stated that "at least 500 comfort women must be concentrated here", as Japanese troops continue to advance.
The 1993 "Kono Statement", named after Yohei Kono, then chief secretary of the Japanese Cabinet, acknowledged the involvement of the Japanese authorities in forcing women to work in brothels.
However, this did not stop the differences on the issue, which included the extent to which the Japanese Government was involved.
The Japanese Cabinet Secretariat, which Kyodo said was collecting official documents on comfort women, could not be reached for comment.
South Korea reached a settlement with Japan over the comfort women's dispute in 2015, where Japan apologized to the victims and provided 1 billion yen ($9million) to a fund to help them.
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