A House measure addressing the issue of “comfort women” during World War II prompted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to raise the subject on the first day of his visit to Washington.

On Thursday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers met for an hour with Abe in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Abe sought to deflect congressional support for the bill by bringing up the issue himself.

“As both an individual and as prime minister, I sympathize with those women who were forced to taste life’s bitterness,” he told the lawmakers, according to a statement. “Along with this, I am full of a feeling of apology toward the fact that they were placed in such a painful situation.”

The bill (H Res 121), introduced by Michael M. Honda, D-Calif., calls on Tokyo to “formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility” for Japan’s mistreatment of the women “in a clear and unequivocal manner.”

During World War II, hundreds of thousands of “comfort women” were victims of sexual enslavement.

Japanese leaders have warned the Bush administration that, if passed, the bill could create problems for U.S.-Japan relations.

Abe has said he agrees with Tokyo’s 1993 apology that acknowledged official Japanese government involvement, and his remarks Thursday appeared to satisfy some lawmakers.

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, who attended the meeting, said Abe, “without anyone asking, brought up the issue and expressed his regret and apologized profusely.” Inouye said that for him, the matter was closed.

Pelosi, declined to comment on Abe’s remarks, but has indicated she supports Honda’s measure.

“Recognizing the horrific acts committed against the comfort women are long overdue,” she wrote in a newsletter to Asian constituents in February. “With Democratic leadership at the helm in Congress, we will continue to make sure these issues are heard.”

In February, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held the first-ever hearings on the issue.

Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., has not yet decided when the panel will mark up Honda’s bill, which has 90 cosponsors, an aide said.

The prospect of Congress adding its voice to the issue has Japanese leaders concerned.

Japan’s ambassador to the United States, Ryozo Kato, in February called the bill “unfounded,” adding that U.S.-Japan ties could be “adversely affected.”

Increased tensions over the comfort women issue could complicate efforts by U.S. and Japanese leaders to make progress on free trade, U.S. military bases in Japan and a common strategy to deal with North Korea’s nuclear program.

Japanese diplomats have been meeting with lawmakers recently to lobby against Honda’s measure, and the Japanese Embassy also hired the lobbying firm of Hogan and Hartson to weigh in against the bill.

The Bush administration wants to keep the issue off the agenda during Abe’s visit and opposes Honda’s measure as unhelpful.

“The president believes that Prime Minister Abe has done a lot to clear up the misunderstandings in the last couple of weeks on this issue,” said Dennis Wilder, Asia Director of the National Security Council, on April 25.