The Japanese government reacted angrily on Tuesday to a statue in South Korea that appears to depict Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, kneeling and bowing to a seated "comfort woman," a euphemism for women forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels.

Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said if reports of the statue on display were true, it would be an "unforgivable" breach of international protocol.