A former Japanese military brothel located in the city of Nanjing was made into a protected historic site, according to the municipal government's official Weibo account.

The government first reached the decision on June 9 and confirmed the site on Wednesday. Liji Alley in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, was home to seven buildings which were once "comfort women" stations run by the Japanese.

Jing Shenghong, a history professor with Nanjing Normal University, said Japanese troops ran more than 40 "comfort women" stations in the city during World War II, making them the largest war-related brothel in Asia.