Opaqueness in Explanation

To the strategy of shock and awe by their political leaders, both Japanese and South Korean nations responded immediately. Japanese conservatives started protests against the minister-level agreement on settling comfort woman issue. Former comfort women in South Korea were frustrated with the agreement without any consultation to them. Reconciliation of both nations is on its way.

While most Japanese welcomed the agreement between both Ministers of Foreign Affairs, some right-wing activists showed up in front of Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Tokyo and raised their voices. “The agreement was to droop the head unilaterally and apologize and compensate as a state,” said Makoto Sakurai, former President of an anti-Korean group called Zaitokukai, as shown in YouTube. They held a banner, which read “We protest Japan-South Korean agreement that injured honor and pride of our ancestors.” The place was the same place as where liberal activists had been protesting conservative policies of Shinzo Abe administration.

Governmental officers look like waning. “Making the largest compromise we could, though, we had not recognized legal responsibility,” told an officer of Japanese government to a question on consistency with Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and Republic of Korea in 1965, which declared that all claims for compensation were settled. While previous administrations recognized “moral responsibility,” Japanese Foreign Minister, Fumio Kishida, used the words of “Responsibility of Japan.” To that description, some lawmakers in leading coalition began to question it, indicating possibility of criticism on its ambivalence.

In Seoul, former comfort women rejected the agreement in the meeting with the Secretaries of ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Why didn’t you tell us stakeholders before you agreed on it?” asked a woman in a house where former comfort women lived together. The focus was concentrated on a deal that both governments agreed on taking appropriate measures on a statue of comfort woman in front of Japanese Embassy in Seoul. While ROK explained it to have been built by private organization, Japanese government recognized the deal as removing the statue. Former comfort women firmly opposed to the removal.

Japanese governmental officials revealed that both governments reconfirmed removal of the statue and Japan’s offer of ¥1 billion for compensation was based on the relocation. It is possible that Japan’s pledge will not be fully implemented as long as the statue appears in front of the Embassy. The South Koreans can be protesting the political maneuver by protecting the statue.