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Korea ‘comfort women’ protest against Japan deal

The initial reaction of former sex slaves was mixed.

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“I believe that there is some real chance that the government-to-government deal will collapse (as it did previously) because the victims and their most trusted supporters, who built the statue were excluded from the deal-making process in the first place”, said Prof Nakano.


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South Koreans hold the portraits of the deceased former South…


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There has also been much focus on the future of a “comfort woman” statue now located outside Seoul’s Japanese Embassy.

The statue itself has been the subject of intense speculation, amid reports in Japan stating that it would be relocated in line with Monday’s agreement.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday the payment was aimed at “restoring the women’s dignity” but was not an official compensation.

This issue has haunted the relationship between the two countries, even though they renewed bilateral ties in 1965.

Speaking during a press event in Taipei, Foreign Minister David Lin said on Wednesday that the Japanese side has shown goodwill and agreed to engage in negotiations with Taiwan over the comfort women issue sometime next month. We applaud the leaders of Japan and the Republic of Korea for having the courage and vision to reach this agreement, and we call on the worldwide community to support it. We look forward to continuing to work with both countries on regional and global issues, including advancing our economic ties and security cooperation.

And, in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has faced further criticism from far-right activists and some newspapers for offering “anew his most honest apologies and remorse” to South Korea as part of the settlement.

The head of a group of Filipino victims of sexual abuse by Japanese soldiers during WW2 welcomed the deal with South Korea.

A year ago, they signed a three-way pact under which South Korea routes its information to the United States, which then passes it on to Japan, and vice versa.

Dozens of college students gathered in front of the local police station on Thursday after holding an unauthorized demonstration near Japan’s embassy in Seoul in protest against the South Korea-Japan agreement on former sex slaves during World War II, police said.

However, South Korean authorities have defended the statue and its placement.

But Seoul has said that the treaty did not cover compensation for victims of wartime crimes and did not absolve Tokyo of legal responsibility.

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Public opinion in Japan is divided over the agreement.

South Korean 'comfort women' protest against accord with Japan