TOKYO (AP) – Japan’s Foreign Minister on Monday accused South Korea of worsening already tense ties by making “illegal” demands for compensation for the sexual abuse of Korean women and the use of forced labor during World War II.
Toshimitsu Motegi said in a diplomatic policy speech in parliament that a recent South Korean court ruling ordering Japan to compensate 12 South Korean women who were sexually assaulted in Japanese military brothels during the war, “ was an abnormal development that absolutely unthinkable under international law and bilateral relations. “
“We strongly urge South Korea to correct violations of international law as soon as possible” and restore healthy relationships, Motegi said.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Jan. 8 that the Japanese government must give 100 million won ($ 91,360) to each of the 12 elderly women who filed lawsuits in 2013 over their war suffering as ‘comfort women’.
They were among the tens of thousands of women in Japanese-occupied Asia and the Pacific who were sent to the Japanese army brothels on the front lines.
The ruling exacerbated tensions between the two countries, whose relations had already fallen to their lowest level in decades from previous South Korean statements about Japan’s actions during the colonial rule of 1910-1945 on the Korean peninsula.
South Korea’s Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese companies to make reparations to some South Koreans forced to work in their factories during the war.
The forced labor dispute escalated into a trade dispute, prompting South Korea to threaten to scrap a 2016 military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, an important part of their regional defense cooperation with the United States.
Japan has protested the court’s rulings, saying that all wartime compensation issues were resolved under a 1965 treaty to normalize relations, with Japan providing $ 500 million in economic aid.
In Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-on Monday said it “would not be desirable for bilateral relations” if Seoul and Tokyo fail to find a diplomatic solution before South Korean courts proceed to liquidate local assets. the Japanese companies seized after they refused to compensate Korean workers in wartime.
Moon also described the saying “comfort women” as “frankly a complicating” development for the government’s efforts to improve relations with Japan. During a press conference, he did not give details of possible diplomatic efforts.
Motegi called South Korea “an important neighbor” and said its cooperation with Japan and the United States was “indispensable to regional security”, including the response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
Japan, under a 1995 semi-governmental Asian Women’s Fund, offered payments and apologies to certified wartime sexual abuse victims from five countries, settling disputes with all but South Korea. According to Japan’s Foreign Ministry, 61 South Korean victims each received 5 million yen ($ 48,200) from the 367 million yen ($ 3.5 million) fund, but many others refused to accept the money.
In 2015, the then governments of South Korea and Japan reached what was supposed to be a final and irreversible deal to resolve the issue with a new 1 billion yen ($ 9 million) fund set up by the Japanese government, but the The Moon’s current government was dissolved. he said the deal had been reached without proper consultation with the victims.
In what appeared to be a shift in tone, Moon said on Monday that South Korea recognizes the 2015 deal as a legitimate agreement that should provide a basis for finding a better solution that would satisfy victims. He stopped working.
Japanese deputy cabinet secretary Manabu Sakai said his government “took note” of Moon’s comment. Japan is still calling for appropriate action by South Korea while considering all possible options, he said.
“We will see what actions will be taken on the South Korean side,” Sakai said.
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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
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