japan proves again to be assholes: Japan Asks SK To Block Monument Former Wartime Sex Slaves

[unreal.livejournal.com]

Japan has asked South Korea to block a plan of a group of elderly Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery to serve Japan's World War II soldiers to set up a "Peace Monument" near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday.

The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, which represents the Korean victims and has staged rallies in front of the Japanese embassy on Wednesday of every week, plans to unveil the monument in December to mark its 1,000th demonstration, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The rallies are aimed at demanding the Japanese government apologise for and pay direct compensation to the victims, euphemistically called "comfort women." "Japan's Foreign Ministry has asked us to prevent them from setting up the Peace Monument," the official said on the condition of anonymity.


However, it will be difficult for the South Korean government to block the move because setting up the monument does not require approval from the government, the official said.

South Korea has proposed talks with Japan on the issue of the Korean victims, following a ruling late last month by the Constitutional Court that it is unconstitutional for the Seoul government to make no specific effort to settle the issue with Tokyo. Japan has not responded to the proposal.

It is one of the most emotional issues that still remains unresolved between South Korea and Japan. The Korean Peninsula was under a brutal Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45.

Japan has acknowledged that its wartime military used sex slaves but refuses to directly compensate the victims individually, arguing that the issue was settled by a 1965 normalisation treaty with South Korea.

Source: bernama

Comments

[itangeisha.livejournal.com]

what can i say? ...

[x-doctess.livejournal.com]

FUCK THIS SHIT

I can't imagine the humiliation these women have had to go through. It's depressing =/

[velveteenkitten.livejournal.com]

Have they really? Douche move, Japan, douche move. I would like to see the 1965 treaty though and what exactly it says. These women need an apology and compensation.

[shadowfax.livejournal.com]

jfc if there's not ever going to be compensation of any kind just let them have this

[lil-rach-angel.livejournal.com]

Glad it'll be difficult should be S. Korean government decide to try and block in case they'd actually try to instead of just give lip service.

[pon-pon-pink.livejournal.com]

oh come on, just because park chung hee agreed to sign some fuckin treaty in 1965 it doesn't mean the women are alright. he just did it to get some more normalised diplomatic relationship with japan to build up korea but he didn't care what the consequences were.
i love you japan, ut just stand up to your mistakes and fuckin apologize or at least don't try to bury them and hope everyone forgets.

[angel-9-lives.livejournal.com]

this:(

[gabucha26.livejournal.com]

First of all, the monument will be on S.K. so Japan really should have no say about it.

Besides if the Japanese gov't is not willing to compensate these women, the least they can do is let them have their monument. It saddens me to see how those women are treated like trash....just ugh. I don't care if the issue was "settled" in '65, clearly it wasn't.

[kayleen-san.livejournal.com]

Cry more, Japan. Let these women at least have this monument.

[lyuna.livejournal.com]

Considering how Japan deals with WWII in general I am not surprised. Still, fucking douche move. Nothing about this is 'settled' just because of some treaty.

[amy.livejournal.com]

your first sentence was my exact thought. this is so disgusting.

[akaich0u.livejournal.com]

mte. Absolutely deplorable politics and just a lack of compassion alltogether.

[ababobaby.livejournal.com]

this

[kittycurious.livejournal.com]

"Japan...arguing that the issue was settled by a 1965 normalisation treaty with South Korea."

Did a little digging into the treaty...

"South Korea agreed to demand no compensations, either at the government or individual level, after receiving $800 million in grants and soft loans from Japan as compensation for its 1910–45 colonial rule in the treaty."

"The documents also reveals that the South Korean government claimed that it would handle individual compensation to its citizens who suffered during Japan's colonial rule while rejecting Japan's proposal to directly compensate individual victims and receiving the whole amount of grants on the behalf of victims."
[Supposedly from documents proceeding the treaty. Via Wiki, original sources missing.]

If the above is true, it's no wonder Japan is claiming it's already settled. Especially since, at least according to the wiki article, Korea's government claimed they would take responsibility for individual victims. Which, imo, sounds weird. I always thought it the duty of the offending nation to reimburse the offended nation, individuals and all. Maybe Korea's government back then didn't want to accept their attacker's help?

Either way, I don't feel Japan has the right to ask for a block on the monument.

[joongielover.livejournal.com]

A+ comment

[geniebsmart.livejournal.com]

This. And good find on the information about the treaty :)

I will say, though, if S.K. agreed to help the citizens individually on its own, then if they feel like allowing the monument is one of those ways, Japan definitely has no say.

[katzsong.livejournal.com]

A much more comprehensive comments. So, there's something with the government on both sides that need to be cleared and then socialized it with their own people.
Question though, do the women know/aware about this?

and yeah, Japan has no say if the monument is in SK.

[kittycurious.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if the women/other victims know about it, unfortunately. The info I used is supposedly from some 1200 pages preceding the treaty that South Korea released themselves. So I'd assume that the victims would, but you never know.

[soundczech.livejournal.com]

i don't think it's that unusual, historically, for the offending nation to provide a lump sum to the injured government to be divvied up between victims. $800 million was an enormous amount in 1965 (it's an enormous figure now without even adjusting for inflation), so the korean government should have been able to provide some kind of compensation from that fund, but it seems that the majority of the money went to infrastructure projects. The SK government rejected the japanese offer of individual settlements, so I can actually understand the Japanese government's position that they have already provided compensation - it is the South Korean government's responsibility if they did not distribute that money to their citizens' satisfaction.

That said, the Japanese government intervening over the monument is a douche move.

[pon-pon-pink.livejournal.com]

that's right but the thing was, park chung hee, president at that time, was more interested in modernizing the country so most of the money wasn't given to the actual victims but used for that. Sure Japan is right with saying what they're saying but the problem is, back then they knew this is the easy way to get out of this problem and be able to later say "we already paid". They were aware of the fact, that nothig would be given to the victims and it was just written on paper that it's compensation for those who suffered but it would never go through. They knew The government wouldn't agree on Japan paying each individual because it was the government who needed the money apparently most. You see how fast Korea grew to be one of the most modernized countries, but it's also evident that those victims in WWII and the colonial rule are now victims of their own government as well and they were tricked into the situation now.
There's some good documentaries about the women and their struggle out like The Murmuring, 63 Years on, Silence Broken...they're really good and the wome themselves talk about how life has been since the end of the war and how they have been treated. (Like, if i remember correctly, the governemnt built them a house to live in together. Well ok that's nice at least they have a roof above their heads but what else?!) Really interesting.

[kittycurious.livejournal.com]

How can you be sure Japan knew that was the easy way out? You know a lot more about this than me, so I'd be interested in why you believe they knew/thought it was an easier route than another.

Looking at it just from the top, it seems like any other post-wartime dealings. The belligerent nation pays the offended nations/peoples, issues apologies, etc. So what ruffles my feathers is that the president at the time didn't really pay the victims anything. Sure he gave some money to some of them, but not what they were promised. Instead he took the funds meant for them and used it to build the foundation to the amazing modernized wonder the country is now.
From just what I know, I believe it would be unfair to demand that Japan give them more money when the issue, on their part, is resolved.

[kittycurious.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see. Thanks for explaining that. :)

I didn't know the condition of the countries at the time. Basically they took what they thought they could get, and that bit about the women being ashamed to confess. Ugh. The very idea that victims should be ashamed is so wrong to me. It's not the fault of these women that what happened to them did. And the fact it still goes on today =_=

[eishastan.livejournal.com]

Gosh WTH it's a PEACE MONUMENT!! smh at Japanese government rn..

[erisabetsu.livejournal.com]

they should had shut up and compensate thos women
and even pay for this monument...
Japanese goverment is really the worste from times to times...

[geniebsmart.livejournal.com]

Queen BoA side-eyes you, Japan. SIDE.EYE. >___>

Let those women have the monument, I say. u__u

[baeby-bloo-skys.livejournal.com]

No treaty is ever going to be able to compensate for or resolve all these women have had to endure.
There are aspects of the Korea-Japan tension that I think are silly and childish, but this is not one of them. This is an issue that deserves to be treated with sensitivity and respect, and to me it does not seem like that is the case.
Basically, I hope they get to have their monument.

[very-pinku.livejournal.com]

I feel this article title could be changed.
So can the title be changed to simply Japan Asks SK To Block Monument Former Wartime Sex Slaves?
I don't approve of calling Japan asshole, even though what they have done is unforgivable.

Maybe I'm being a bit sensitive to the word.

Anyway, the Japanese gov. shouldn't have a say in this.
It's something that Korean gov. should have a choice to make.
The Korea-Japan conflict is a difficult thing to talk about,
but certain boundaries and choices do need to be respected.

[katzsong.livejournal.com]

well, coz the Japanese-government-today-has-make-an-unwise-decision title is apparently too long. Politically correct but won't fit in Twitter :3

[very-pinku.livejournal.com]

What I meant was take out the japan proves again to be assholes part and keep the rest.
I'm sure the message can be sent, just by the other part alone.

[katzsong.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean :) but looks like the poster want a catchy title (which is not politically correct, but believe me it looks catchy on twitter), and I was just a bit playing with it :P

Don't take it to heart, dear. There's always be hater, on both sides. Keep going on the peaceful route :)

[very-pinku.livejournal.com]

I guess so ^^;;. I'll try not to take it to heart, but it's sad to see the 2 worlds I do like clashing against each other.

[fluttering.livejournal.com]

I can't take this shit anymore. These poor women. The Japanese government needs to stop ruining what's left of these women's lives and just fucking apologies already. RAGE

[http://users.livejournal.com/___sasuka/]

In situations like these I always wonder what the average Japanese person feels. Government protocol hardly seems to match public opinion a lot of the time.