A federal case over whether to remove a controversial Glendale memorial to “comfort women” forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II could be decided as soon as next month.

The case in U.S. District Court centers over a bronze statue in Glendale Central Park that depicts a Korean woman sitting in traditional garb next to an open seat. The Glendale City Council voted 4-1 to install the statue last July. It is intended as a tribute to hundreds of thousands of women believed to be rounded up and forced into sexual slavery, but the issue remains controversial to this day because many conservatives in Japan dispute some of the estimates of how extensive the practice was.

The plaintiffs in the court case filed in February argue that the memorial exceeds the city’s power, infringes upon the federal government’s power to exclusively conduct foreign affairs, violates the Supremacy Clause in the Constitution and negatively affects foreign relations with Japan.

The plaintiffs are identified as Michiko Shiota Gingery of Glendale, Koichi Mera of Los Angeles and a group calling itself the Global Alliance for Historical Truth (GAHT-U.S.), of which Mera is president.

On Friday, U.S. District Court judge Percy Anderson announced a decision will be made after May 5, after both sides submit their stances. At that time, Anderson could either issue his decision or set a hearing.

Sidley Austin LLP in Los Angeles, which has a history of taking cases they believe infringe upon freedom of expression, offered to represent Glendale pro bono in the lawsuit. Frank Broccolo, pro bono chairman of Sidley Austin and the attorney representing Glendale, said removing the comfort women statue is akin to closing a Holocaust museum or dismantling an Armenian genocide memorial.

“It’s a very dangerous and slippery slope,” Broccolo said. “States and municipalities have a long tradition of expressing themselves and respecting matters of historical importance, and this lawsuit could bring an abrupt end to those traditions.”

Broccolo previously filed motions to strike and to dismiss the complaint.

Mera is “offended” by the city’s decision to place a statue in Central Park, and now, he avoids the area entirely, according to the complaint.

“I’m in the middle of a lawsuit, and I don’t want to disclose any information,” Mera said. “My position is clearly stated in the complaint filed in District Court.”

The statue was funded by the Korean American Forum of California (KAFC), a nonprofit human rights organization.

“The statue is there to remember the pain and suffering of victims of sexual slavery,” KAFC spokeswoman Phyllis Kim said. “Asking the statue be removed is like German people coming to America and asking the Holocaust Museum or Museum of Tolerance be removed. We don’t think it’s a reasonable position.”

The statue has been met with opposition from Japan.

“We received some letters and quite a few emails both in support and opposition,” Glendale city spokesman Dan Bell said. Months ago, a councilman from Higashiosaka, Glendale’s sister city in Japan, visited with Glendale council members to “educate himself further” on the city and its monument, Bell said.

According to historians, 200,000 women and girls — mostly Korean, but also Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipina and Dutch from the colony of Indonesia — were rounded up and forced into brothels and raped by Japanese soldiers. The Japanese government issued a formal apology in 1993, but was criticized for a lack of sincerity within the Korean community.

“I think Japanese government has a lot to do with this effort to downplay and whitewash the history,” Kim said. “The Japanese government’s position on this historical issue is vague, if that. Sometimes higher officials say outright that sexual slavery didn’t exist and they were all prostitutes.”