I think I may have figured it out. I found an article that states that: "In 1983, a Japanese writer, Seiji Yoshida, published a book entitled "My War Crime - Forcing Transportation of the Koreans." It was an alleged confession that he had "transported about 205 Korean women forcibly under the command of the Japanese military to make them comfort women for Japanese soldiers." Later, The Asahi Shimbun, an anti-Japanese (side-note:this article may be a little biased) newspaper in Japan, took up this greatly and spread the stories of the "comfort women."
(Sorry if I'm being obvious, but if you weren't aware, the term "comfort women" is used as a euphemism for forced prostitutes for the Japanese military during WWII. I think it refers exclusively to Korean women used in this way (as the Japanese government's apology to Korea for these acts is a large part of the debate), but I may be wrong.)
However, later it became proven by many sources that his story was a lie, and none of the events in the book had happened. He then later confessed that it was a total fabrication, although offering no apology.
Here's the article- http://www2.biglobe.ne.jp/remnant/comfortw.htm
However, I was somewhat mistaken when I connected the veracity of his book to the existence of "comfort women" as a whole. The question of whether "comfort women" (as they are described in his book) did exist in the Japanese military during WWII is apparently still up for debate. Also, they were only referred to by the term "comfort women" after his book was published and the term was popularized by it. (Not really that important, but an interesting fact)
Here's another article; this one concerning NHK Japan News and the Japanese government's stance on the existence of "comfort women"- http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2015/02/06/nhk-chiefs-comfort-women-stance-reignites-debate-over-neutrality/
Apparently, a big part of the debate over "comfort women" is that the Japanese government has repeatedly endorsed an admission of forced prostitution of Korean women by the Japanese military during WWII and expressed their apology to Korea in the so-called Kono statement in 1993. The controversy is that the evidence on "comfort women" and stance of the government regarding the existence of "comfort women" has changed since the apology statement was made, as stated in the article-
"The Japanese military’s involvement in forced prostitution during World War II has been the subject of repeated controversy since Mr. Abe (side-note: if you didn't know, he's Japan's current prime minister, Shinzo Abe) took office in late 2012. Mr. Abe and his conservative allies say that while some women may have been tricked into working in the brothels, no documented evidence exists proving direct coercion by the military."
NHK and other groups and organizations have asked the government whether it would change it's position on the Kono statement or rescind it, considering its current stance on the issue. Apparently, for now the government has decided not to change it's position on the apology.
Anyway, hope that helps you understand it better. I know reading those articles helped me get a better grasp on it. It is really interesting. One thing I would bear in mind however, is that this subject is pretty complicated, and I may have been mistaken or uninformed on some points, considering I only read three articles and watched the news about it, so I would take everything I've said with a grain of salt and do some more research yourself if you want to learn more or be sure of the info. Anyway, I had fun researching the subject. Hope you do too.