Chinese man held after petrol bomb attack on Japan's Seoul embassy

808killa

So, if the Japanese government pay out more money to Korea, all will be well? It's not about what is fair because "fair" is always different depending on your viewpoint. Can you suggest an amount that should be paid to each of these now elderly women?

IslandFever

Now you're talking! I think Japan has apologized numerous times to numerous countries but each time they apologize it is seen as being insincere. All a country can do is apologize and pay compensation. That is the way it is done. I am interested as to what specific wording in an apology would make things better....

What of forgive and forget do people fail to understand? Revenge and hate only generates more revenge and hate. It's a vicious cycle that doesn't end until we all learn to forgive and forget.

No former comfort woman has ever received a cheque or bank deposit with "Government of Japan" stamped on it as the payor with an attached letter of apology.

No but their government did and with the notion that these women would get some of the money. If the Koreans want to be angry at someone, they need to be angry with their government for not sharing the money the Japanese handed over based on this issue.

Hasn't this idiot got anything better to do in his life? This is a prime example of how most racism is fed by parental influence. This grandchild probably has more in common with the present day generation of Japanese than with his grandparents. Let him continue to live in the 1940's.

@YYJ72,

No former comfort woman has ever received a cheque or bank deposit with "Government of Japan" stamped on it as the payor with an attached letter of apology.

There's a reason for that. Japan offered to do exactly what you point out wasn't done, and the South Korean government forbid it. (The following is from the Wikipedia entry for "Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea") http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_Basic_Relations_between_Japan_and_the_Republic_of_Korea

In January 2005, the South Korean government disclosed 1,200 pages of diplomatic documents that recorded the proceeding of the treaty. The documents, kept secret for 40 years, recorded that 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.[5]

The documents also recorded that the Korean government demanded a total of 364 million dollars in compensation for the 1.03 million Koreans conscripted into the workforce and the military during the colonial period,[6] at a rate of 200 dollars per survivor, 1,650 dollars per death and 2,000 dollars per injured person.[7] However, the South Korean government used most of the grants for economic development,[8] failing to provide adequate compensation to victims by paying only 300,000 won per death in compensating victims of forced labor between 1975 and 1977.[9] Instead, the government spent most of the money establishing social infrastructures, founding POSCO, building Gyeongbu Expressway and the Soyang Dam with the technology transfer from Japanese companies.[10]

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.[11][12]

As the result, there have been growing calls for the government to compensate the victims since the disclosure of the documents. A survey conducted shortly after the disclosure showed that more than 70 percent of Korean people believe the South Korean government should bear responsibility to pay for those victims (ibid.). The South Korean government announced that it will establish a team to deal with the appeals for compensation, although "It has been the government's position that compensation for losses during the Japanese occupation has already been settled".[13]

Japanese officials had reportedly not been in favor of the South Korean government disclosing the documents because they were concerned about repercussions the disclosure of such diplomatic documents would have on bilateral normalizations talks with North Korea, who reportedly wants more than $10 billion as compensation for its share.[14] Japan has generally refused to pay damages to individuals, saying it settled the issue on a government-to-government basis under the 1965 agreement.

He was a Chinese SPY. Send by Chinese govt. The purpose is to fuel the Koreans aganist Japan. China always used Koreans to get money from Japan in the past. Chinese govt is loosing the support from Koreans. Now 99% of Koreans hate Chinese. And korean young people wants to be friends with Japan, This make Chinese govt worry. You will see more Chinese spy`s like him in many places attacking Japanese places. Shame on you the Chinese govt. Lets Unite all Asians aganist Chinese aggressions...

I think Realmind has has hit the proverbial nail right on the HEAD, it would not surprise me either if this Chinese dude was some kind of spy from Beijing, trying to stir things up against Japan in South Kore. Very good insight, REALMIND!

Island Fever

Both the Korean and Japanese governments of the 1960s agreed on an amount that included compensation for these victims. Apparently the Korean government didn't exactly distribute the funds as well as some may have hoped. Sorry, but I'm with Japan on this one. The settlement of the 1960s stated that there would be no further claims and this was agreed upon by both sides. Subsequent governments can't turn around and try to change such agreements.

@islandfever, you emotions are clouding your vision. Read the news, the women want more compensations, money. Your analogy with the Germans is also misplaced, you don't see the Jews coming out to ask for more handouts from the German govt. Reason well before you start spurting lava, mt. Vesuvius. No one here is condoning the acts of the Japanese decades ago, not least the Japanese themselves, but hey if the Koreans took the compensation and signed not to ask for more, then it's done. No one however, is saying the women can't talk about their woes, but let them do it thru the right channel, their govt.

The money was given to the government of South Korea and most of them were screwed over by them too by getting measly dollars that were worth nothing back then. Now Japan says they apologized already but if you were the young girl that was forced to have sex, would that be enough? Wouldn't you want a personal apology or even an acknowledgment that what was done was wrong?? So perhaps they should take up their issues with THEIR government? Japan HAS apologized numerous times. And you're wrong, it IS about the money. This guy's granny is dead. Why does he care what happened? He wasn't around then. My grandfather fought the Germans, the Italians... Was shot in the process. Does it affect me? Not one bit. Did he carry a grudge around for years after seeing his family and friends killed in the war? Nope.

Now was this guy's grandmother Chinese or Korean as the stories here are confusing. Also, why come to Japan and help if he dislikes the government so much? I guess it is good that he can distinguish between the public and the government but please, he wants attention - and money - for something that did not affect him any more than the war affected any of us that weren't involved but that had family involved, be it via fighting or having family members killed.

With regards to telling people to get over it, Japan can say that when they stop being the victim about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Until that day, I will remind them of their victim mentality when they complain about this issue.

Someone who had no part in the war throwing petrol bombs at a building that (probably) wasn't built until after the war with people inside who also had no part in the war.

Good grief... What gives? I mean, Germany & the rest of Europe don't have this problem...

Elbuda: Telling the man to simply 'get over it' over something that has personally affected him (via a relative) is easier said than done, especially when the Japanese government fails to atone -- and actually tries to deny -- their war crimes. I completely agree with Ameli-Hussein that hate only generates more revenge and hate, and what the guy did was absolutely wrong, but simply dismissing the possible reason WHY he did is could be precisely the reason he felt impelled to do it in the first place.

Anyway, I wonder if he planned to do it in Seoul for any particular reason (ie. face less harsh penalties than if he did it in his home country, and will likely only be deported and blocked from SKorea). Glad no one was hurt.

The Japanese people are one thing. For the Japanese people, I have nothing but respect. Their leaders......we are talking a special breed of fools here..

I'm not sure of the details involved, but is it really possible to reliably confirm if a person was actually a "comfort woman"? Are there any official records? If not, wouldn't it mean any woman in that age group could make a claim?

Uh nigelboy....you want to back up what you are saying here...? Saying the relation of the Koreans to the Japanese was like that of the Austrians to the Germans is a little off. More like the relations of the French and the Germans....not a consenting relationship by a long shot. Maybe you ought to open a history textbook, and not the Japanese ones you've obviously been using to school yourself.

"We discovered Liu is the one who claimed to have set fire to the door of Japan's Yasukuni Shrine last month," Park said.

Before entering South Korea, Liu had stayed in Japan for two months since October as a volunteer to help victims of March's massive earthquake and tsunami, the officer added.

claiming his deceased grandmother on his mother's side was a former Korean sex slave.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2012/01/08/17/0301000000AEN20120108000952315F.HTML

He comes to help and then attacks. Anyone with such hate would not have come to help. Very strange.

Given that he could be 1/4 Japanese he should have applied for a passport instead. :)

I am familiar with the comfort women issue. The complainants seek two things:

An official apology in the form a resolution passed in the Japanese parliament, or "Diet". This would be similar to the apologies issued in, for example, Canada's parliament for the internment of Japanese-Canadians during World War 2, or in Australia's parliament for the treatment of aboriginal people. Thus far, all apologies issued by Japanese politicians have been either personal statements in their individual capacity as Prime Minister, or as party statements on behalf of the governing party of the time. As such, these are not official apologies on behalf of the entire country and do not carry an equivalent level of weight or atonement. There may be reasonable arguments for not passing such a Diet resolution given the lack of unanimity among Japanese views about the comfort women issue, but hopefully one day the war crime deniers will no longer hold enough sway to block this process.

Compensation directly given to the victims. The funds provided by Japan thus far have either been channeled through intermediary agencies, or used to set up and administer intermediary agencies to which Japanese citizens were welcome to contribute to in a personal capacity. No former comfort woman has ever received a cheque or bank deposit with "Government of Japan" stamped on it as the payor with an attached letter of apology.

Also, from the standpoint of the victims, receiving a cheque from their own government with a letter that would, in effect, say "please accept this payment in lieu of an apology from the Government of Japan" is hardly sufficient to bring about closure or forgiveness.

Tmarie@very good comments and I still can't comprehend other comments about denying Hiroshima and Nagasaki??

I am a Korean who although likes Japan and its people firmly believe Japan ought to do more homework in cleaning up the mess it had created in Korea in the first place.Just saying Oh! Korea should get over the past is too much for Koreans who still remember the past pains of Japanese colonialism..How would Japanese people feel if Koreans told them Come On! You Should Get Over the issue of U.S. Air Force A-bomb attacks not once but twice?? Please don't misunderstand me into thinking that all Koreans are Japan-haters because that's simply not true..

I welcome more Japanese and Koreans to visit each other's country.And i commend highly Japan's apologies to Korea many times which their PM offered to Korean people..Also Japan paying compensation money to Korean victims of war would greatly help two Asian neighbours reconcile with each other..Many Koreans want peace with Japan and they want to get along well with their neighbour and I also hope Japan feels the same to Koreans too!!

As for Chinese man who threw the firebomb at Seoul's Japan embassy, regrettably such act is something Japan needs to work out with China..I hope Korea doesn't get entangled in troubled Sino-Japanese rivalry..Remember dispute between China and Japan can have ripple effects on Korea but there is no reason why Korea should be involved in their own business.. Sino-Japan-2 Koreas should sit down and talk about their security situation so that unnecessary arms race among 4 Asian countries can be avoided at all costs..Peace To All from Michael in Seoul,Korea!!

I welcome more Japanese and Koreans to visit each other's country.And i commend highly Japan's apologies to Korea many times which their PM offered to Korean people..Also Japan paying compensation money to Korean victims of war would greatly help two Asian neighbours reconcile with each other..Many Koreans want peace with Japan and they want to get along well with their neighbour and I also hope Japan feels the same to Koreans too!!

Compensation and apology okawari by Koreans.

Koreans were participants of Pacific War much along the same lines as Austria was to Germans and yet you don't hear Austrians asking compensation/apology from Germany do you? And if you mean "victims of war" as in Korean War, Japan's payment to the Korean government paved way for industrial development of SK except for the fact that you Koreans whitewash it and call it "Miracle of Han River".

?

"Both the Korean and Japanese governments of the 1960s agreed on an amount that included compensation for these victims. Apparently the Korean government didn't exactly distribute the funds as well as some may have hoped. Sorry, but I'm with Japan on this one. The settlement of the 1960s stated that there would be no further claims and this was agreed upon by both sides. Subsequent governments can't turn around and try to change such agreements."

Are you really serious? Ok imagine you were a young girl and you were raped by your neighbor. Your parents than made an agreement with your neighbor that they would not press any charges as long as your neighbor pays them a certain amount and that they also apologize. Do you really think that is fair??? It's ridiculous.

Japan insists the issue was settled legally four decades ago but Tokyo is coming under new pressure from South Korea to compensate elderly victims before the last of them die.

The article veers off-course at this point. The man is CHINESE. What Japan says was settled four decades ago is the issue of SOUTH KOREAN compensation. I have no idea whether CHINESE "comfort women" have ever been addressed by Japan.

No but their government did and with the notion that these women would get some of the money. If the Koreans want to be angry at someone, they need to be angry with their government for not sharing the money the Japanese handed over based on this issue.

Seeking redress from one channel doesn't preclude seeking it from another. In civil suits, for example, the claimants can list several respondents if they wish, as often happens. The victims have the right to seek redress directly from the Japanese government if they wish, as well as from their own government if they so wish (is there evidence that they haven't?). Also, Japan's payment of war reparations to the South Korean and other governments in the 1960s was not earmarked or designated specifically for the comfort women's compensation, so it is callous to consider the issue closed. The South Korean government may bear some responsibility for the lack of payment, but the overwhelming preponderance of responsibility still sits with the government of Japan.

Why do you all take this so seriously?

It's ONE crazy guy.

If it was several hundred thousand people, I would understand.

There are nuts everywhere. I think that's about all the analysis that's needed isn't it?

Or am I missing something?

808killa

So, if the Japanese government pay out more money to Korea, all will be well? It's not about what is fair because "fair" is always different depending on your viewpoint. Can you suggest an amount that should be paid to each of these now elderly women?

im not talking about monetary payments. Im talking about Japan saying "oh we paid you guys long time ago, whats done is done." The money they paid did not even go to the women that were raped or forced as prostitutes because most of them were too ashamed and only started coming together in the 90s. The money was given to the government of South Korea and most of them were screwed over by them too by getting measly dollars that were worth nothing back then. Now Japan says they apologized already but if you were the young girl that was forced to have sex, would that be enough? Wouldn't you want a personal apology or even an acknowledgment that what was done was wrong?? Its not even about money for these old women. do you think they even want money at their age? They want a sincere public apology from the Japanese government before they all die, and that is it.

Listen, it's not about the money. The very fact that you keep on bringing up the matter of money is the essence of the problem. Japan only seems to be able to understand money. We gave them money so why don't they shut up. Maybe North Korea should give some money to Japan and tell them to shut up about the kidnap victims? That is absurd.

The issue is about the Japanese attitude. There seems to be some kind of national blockage toward a simple apology. That is all these people want. They just want Japan to say, look, what we did was wrong, we are sorry and we will do whatever it takes to make amends. If Japan is too broke to give money, or wants to argue that it has given money already, so be it. But there needs to be some kind of admission that Japan was wrong in the 1930s and the 1940s, but Japanese authorised textbooks, statements by Japanese government officials, and a plethora of other actual manifestations of Japanese attitudes, not least of which are the disgusting uyoku who are supported by and linked to the LDP (not sure about the DPJ), just make it seem to the Koreans and the Chinese that the Japanese are giving the one finger salute to them...know what I mean?

Of course by that logic, the Koreans could say "get over it" to the Japanese with any future atrocity toward them, but surely this would make the world a cold place. we just abuse each other and say "get over it."

Come to think of it, all this discussion has got me thinking. Maybe I need to go around and make amends to all the people I have wronged...maybe we all do...I sure wish, as an American, that my country would do that. But it takes a strong country, or a strong man or woman, to say "I was wrong.."

Thank you yyj72.

@Fadamor

It's an interesting point you make, but ultimately immaterial. Setting aside the separate issue of the dubious origins of Wikipedia entries, and the fact that the reference links for the portions you highlighted lead to dead links ("Not Found"), the government of Korea, nor any state for that matter, cannot unilaterally negotiate away the right of its citizens to seek redress from a foreign government through private civil actions (and the Government of Japan's lawyers would have known that fact when negotiating the Treaty).

Seeking redress from one channel doesn't preclude seeking it from another. Well in this case I think it did. The Japanese gave the money over basically stating it was a one time thing. The Korean public can complain about it but the Korean government knows it doesn't have a leg to stand on - which is why it was laughable a few weeks ago when that guy started on about it - he's done in the popularity rankings and knows he's on his way out so why not appear to be on the side of the public knowing full well the Japanese government won't budge.

Kindly provide a link where Japanese government has asked for apology and compensation from USA. I don't see the Korean government asking for an apology. You are comparing apples and oranges. I have seen numerous demos from right wing and the like demanding crap based on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and I have been the victim of pathetic Japanese individuals (always been drunk and middle aged men) having a go at me (a non-American) about Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Do you doubt USA dropped the A-bombs? Can you provide any evidence that J gov't enslaved these women? Can you prove that they were? I don't doubt they did drop it. I have no idea what you are trying to get at with your last two questions. Are YOU suggesting there were no comfort women?

Now would it not be funny to have some Tibetan?? Or Muslim minority suffering from Chinese oppression have the Chinese embassy in South Korea attacked too?? 38 years old?? Dude's grandma was a war sex slave?? Get over it, and think about what China is doing to it's own victims in Tibet and the Uighur state etc..

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/08/us-korea-chinese-japan-idUSTRE80706920120108

Police were questioning Liu, a resident of the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, who entered the country on a tourist visa via Japan late last month, to determine the reasons behind the attack, the officer said

A Chinese man went to Japan to go to Korea as a tourist and attack Japanese embassy.

Why? Does anyone have more info about this?

At this point even if Japan was simply say screw you to the rest of the world, and say well we killed a lot of you in the war, tough luck, get over it, I would at least find that more courageous than this kind of cowardly trying to wriggle out of taking responsibility. Maybe Japan should just say "go to hell!" to the rest of the world. Maybe Japan can be, despite what Locke said (no man is an island unto himself), an island unto herself...

This is ONE guy.

Why is it even news?

I don't see the Korean government asking for an apology.

During the last meeting between these 2 governments, Lee spent(wasted) most of the time complaining about "comfort women" issue.

Lee Myung-bak, South Korean president, is asking for Japan to apologize and provide compensation to the victims of Japan’s ‘comfort stations’.

http://www.womensviewsonnews.org/2011/12/south-korean-president-asks-japan-for-resolution-for-comfort-women/

Oldsanno, did you read my post? I mentioned Lee and why he brought it up - because his rating with the public in Korea are pathetic and he's grasping at straws now to try and boast his ratings. Bashing Japan always seems to be a good way for Korean politicians to get in good with the Korean public. He of all people should know he'd be told to screw off with the claims. If anything, I thought Japan handled it very nicely. I would've told him to screw off and reminded him that the Korean government took money and didn't pay their people, not Japan.

It's all relative. I am not condoning the treatment of the Japanese kidnapped by the Koreans, but they were not tortured like millions of Asians were by the Japanese. There is no comparison, and the problem is the lack of empathy that Japan shows the rest of Asia. It is strange.

when they stop being the victim about Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

tmarie

Kindly provide a link where Japanese government has asked for apology and compensation from USA.

Do you doubt USA dropped the A-bombs? Can you provide any evidence that J gov't enslaved these women? Can you prove that they were?