Beijing, China ? China’s foreign minister chastised Japan for ducking responsibility for its military’s use of Asian women as sex slaves during World War II, saying Tuesday it was “one of the serious crimes committed by Japanese militarists.”

The Japanese government “should stand up to this part of history, take responsibility and seriously view and properly handle this issue,” said Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

The relatively mild comments marked the first Chinese reaction to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s disavowal last week of his country’s responsibility for forcing Asian women into military brothels during the war. Abe said there was “no evidence to prove there was coercion.”

Abe’s statement contradicted evidence in Japanese documents unearthed in 1992 that showed that military authorities worked with contractors to forcibly procure about 200,000 women – mostly from Korea and China – for the brothels. The remark also cast doubt on a 1993 Japanese government apology to the sex slaves issued by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono.

His remarks last week prompted angry responses in South Korea and the Philippines. In Seoul, the Foreign Ministry accused Abe of “glossing over the historical truth.”

Li’s response was mild by comparison, and appeared calibrated not to damage prospects for Premier Wen Jiabao’s April visit to Japan – the first visit by a top Chinese leader in seven years.

He denounced the use of “comfort women” as “one of the serious crimes committed by Japanese militarists during the second World War.”

“This is a historical fact,” he said at a news conference coinciding with China’s annual legislative session.

Prominent Japanese scholars and politicians routinely deny direct military involvement or the use of force in rounding up the women, blaming private contractors for any abuses.

The government followed up in 1995 by setting up a fund to meet victims’ compensation demands. But the fund, which is due to expire on March 31, is based on private donations and has been attacked as a government ruse to avoid owning up to the abuse.

Last month, U.S. lawmakers introduced a nonbinding resolution urging Japan to apologize formally. Japan objected to the resolution, and said its leaders have apologized repeatedly.