Korea, Japan reach deal over sex slavery

Korea, Japan reach deal over sex slavery

 

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, right, and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida hold a joint press conference at the ministry in Seoul, Monday, after the two nations reached a deal to resolve the issue of Korean 'comfort women.' / Yonhap
Tokyo falls short of accepting legal responsibility

By Yi Whan-woo

Korea and Japan reached a historic agreement Monday to settle disputes over Tokyo’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II during talks between foreign ministers of the two countries held in Seoul.

The accord came almost 23 years after victims of wartime sexual slavery held their first rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul demanding an apology and compensation. Since then, a rally has been held every Wednesday at the same site, and is now the world’s longest-running protest.

Following a meeting with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan “fully recognizes its responsibility” for its state-perpetrated sex crimes.

Kishida also said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered a “heartfelt” apology for those who suffered.

“The issues regarding comfort women involving the Japanese military left a scar on the honor and dignity of the victimized women,” he said during a press conference at Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “And the Prime Minister apologizes and expresses remorse from the bottom of his heart.”

He added that Japan will offer 1 billion yen from its national budget to set up a foundation in Seoul and support the surviving victims of the wartime sex slavery in cooperation with the Korean government.

An estimated former 200,000 sex slaves, mostly Koreans, were coerced into sexual servitude at frontline brothels operated by the Japanese Army before and during WWII.

There are 46 surviving victims in South Korea. Their average age is 89.

“We hope our financial support helps the victims to heal their emotional wounds in an irreversible manner,” Kishida said.

He asked Korea not to denounce Japan at U.N. meetings concerning former sex slaves, saying “I hope the two nations will enter a new phase in our relations.”

Yun agreed, saying “there will be no condemnation against each other with the assumption that Japan will fully implement the bilateral agreement.”

Meanwhile, Yun said the government will begin discussions with civic activists about relocating the statue of a girl in Seoul that symbolizes the Korean victims in line with a request from Japan.

The statue, situated across the street from the Japanese Embassy, was erected by the civic activists in December 2011 to commemorate the former sex slaves. It became a recent bone of contention affecting the sex-slavery talks between the two nations.

The deal reached concludes historical disputes over the comfort women issue which has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks in Seoul-Tokyo relations since the two nations restored diplomatic relations in 1965.

The two sides mainly wrangled over whether Japan is still legally responsible for its wartime sex slavery.

For many years, Japan said all issues concerning its 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula was resolved “completely and finally” by the 1965 agreement, claiming it fulfilled relevant claims and compensations made by Korea.

Seoul refuted by saying that the bilateral treaty excludes issues on crimes against humanity, and that Japan must address its liability in its apology and compensation offered to surviving victims.

Analysts said they are still uncertain whether Japan acknowledged its legal responsibilities during the foreign ministerial talks.

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