A small statue in a California park is causing an international controversy.

The statue is dedicated to World War Two's so-called comfort women -- mostly Korean women who many say were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers.

A group of visiting Japanese politicians protested the statue yesterday (Thursday).

They also tried to deliver a letter to the mayor of Glendale, but he refused to meet them.

A Tokyo representative said no such statue exists in Japan or Korea, and asked if it would bring the world's children together.

More than 120,000 people have signed a petition calling for the statue's removal.

The spending bill passed by the US Senate yesterday (Thursday) includes a call on the Japanese government to apologize over the comfort women issue.