Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an announcement recently restating That Tokyo is opposed to changing the recent agreement regarding the South Korean comfort women with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea. PM Abe sees the South Korean cooperation between the two nations as the firm basis for further bilateral ties.
PM Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in had previously agreed on a need for the two national powers to forge alliances which would lead to forward-looking agreements. Shinon Abe reiterated the comfort women testimonies and the 1 Billion Yen pledge promised to South Korea would bring solace to the Korean comfort women. The offering of 1 Billion Yen pledge by Japan shows the concern the Japanese Prime Minister has in drawing this issue to a close, but President Moon Jae-in, not in agreement with his predecessor who agreed, is in talks with PM Shinzo Abe to made further concessions to the previous deal. The exact number of women who were forced into sex slavery by Japan is still unclear since records of how women were brought to other countries during the War is fraught with vague or false documentation. Often the women were either promised different jobs than what they were given or in their literature were written other occupations like nurse or secretaries. In some other cases, entire loads of documentation has been reported to have been destroyed. The most recent investigations show a paper trail that leads to nowhere. Reports indicate there are only about 50 survivors who remain alive. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Shino Abe has continued to show support and keep the negotiations he has previously made to bring them comfort and healing.
Between the years 1910-45 Japan colonized the Korean peninsula. During previous negotiations, Shinzo Abe was made aware of the comfort women testimonies and reached an agreement with President Moon’s predecessor. Shinzo Abe pledged 1 Billion Yen to the cause of the comfort women stories. However, President Moon Jae-in recently said that he expects more the Korean comfort women and that 1 Billion Yen was not enough. The comfort women stories revolve around the fact that the South Korean comfort women were forced to work in brothels during World War II. Comfort women were brought in from every Japanese governed territory to serve the needs of those fighting the War.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe stands firm in the agreement he made with South Korea’s former President and made it clear that this is an agreement necessary for ongoing bilateral relations between the two nations.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed further agitation at buses of these women installed in subways and public transportation terminals in the United States, UK, Australia, and Germany. The term comfort women were addressed by the U.N Juman Rights Committee and asked that it be changed to “forced sex slavery.” President Moon Jae-in doesn’t believe the issue can be resolved by a simple exchange between the two nations, but further things must be done to bring a clean resolution to the growing issue. The talks between the two countries are ongoing and are being mediated by a third party nation; otherwise known as “shuttle diplomacy.” A trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan, and China is being planned.