S Korea's Moon calls for official apology over 'comfort women'

I'm so sick of this issue. How many freaking multiple apologies, admissions of guilt, and compensation packages does Japan have to do? Enough is enough.

They just cant let go. Don´t these clowns even notice how everybody is tired of this eternal Japan bashing?

Oh, FFS! Are we gonna have to endure this same BS every time Korea gets a new PM? Japan has made several 'official' apologies. Now, this mullet wants his slice of the fame pie! Japan needs to make an email that just circulates to Korea every time there is a new PM.

They don't accept the 2015 deal, but they accept the money. Interesting.

Should try and sort out L'il Kim rather than dredging up this old saw.

With people like Abe and co rewriting history books and denying it, then the Koreans have every right.

Even though I can't stand Abe, I think the thing he should do is to actually agree to formulate an official apology, at the condition that the 1 Billion yen is returned to Japan. Then we'll have some funny reactions from South Korea I guess.

sensei123: "I'm so sick of this issue. How many freaking multiple apologies, admissions of guilt, and compensation packages does Japan have to do?"

One HONEST one. That's all. Japan really dropped the ball on this one by rushing to Yasukuni the day after the money was offered (Inada, etc.), and allowing law-makers/governors to say flat out that it is just propaganda. Hell, even posters on here and some Japanese in general very adamantly protested the money given by Abe and said flat out it as "not compensation money, but (sic) shut up money". Sorry, but offering money and saying "this is for you to shut up, but it's not compensation money" is not any kind of admission of guilt or apology.

BUT, I think Korea has to give back the money if they are going to demand this. Or better yet, here's what Moon should do: Ask flat out, "Was the money you gave us compensation money for the IJA's forcing of women into sexual slavery, or wasn't it? and is Japan sorry for coercing these women into doing so?" If the answer is "yes", then Korea needs to let it go. If the answer is no, give it back and once again demand a SINCERE apology.

The people have every right to disagree with what their government did, same as people do here. That is why they can still protest.

Too bad Abe won't work with Moon to carefully craft an "official apology". At least Abe, or whoever the next PM is, could say "Told you so" when the next Korean president rejects it. Politics at both ends.

(And then ENTER KJU STAGE ... whichever stage he's reached ... can reject it as he thinks he speaks for ALL Koreans.)

Ike-in-Tokyo: "Too bad Abe won't work with Moon to carefully craft an "official apology"...."

Well, you can start with the "I told you so"s by rereading your first sentence, which admits Abe won't issue an official apology for sexual slavery that explicitly states what the IJA did.

South Korea needs to BTFO. Japan has already payed and apoligized enough. I say stop all this sorry money to china and korea and start funding the taxpayer money where its needed, in japan. How about stop taking money money and sending it to other countries. Grow some!

Japan TOOK legal responsibility in 1965. At that time, Japan and Korea signed a treaty to normalize diplomatic relations and to settle ALL claims by South Korea for compensation. Japan offered a large sum of money to the victims, and also offered to disburse it. the SK government at that time refused, and took the money themselves. Rather than giving it to the victims, they instead spent it on infrastructure projects and gave a pittance to the surviving comfort women and others. They also demanded that the details of the treaty be kept secret for 40 years. Hardly Japan's fault.

This inconvenient truth is largely ignored in the SK media.

What would South Korea do if Japan actually gave a "sincere apology"? Granted, Japan has apologized and paid reparations, but none of that meant anything. It was not sincere. What do they want? The Emperor to kow tow on the steps of the Blue House?

Japanese government acquiesces a lot to S. Korea to save face in front of the world, not to atone for its wartime atrocities. Nevertheless, the 2015 deal was inked as putting an end to the Comfort Women issue forever and irrevocably. Money was accepted by the South Korean government. End of deal.

Going around in circles once again. Before the 2015 deal I was a strong advocate for another official apology to SK, but now it's too much. I am now permanently against any more apologies and monetary extortion and will be strongly pushing this to my local MP

What, another one?

I'm sorry Mr. Moon.

In many ways South Korean President Moon Jae In is the modern day Shylock, everything that is owed has to be paid back. Retribution through the generations, demanded by a pious Presbyterian politically driven civic group.

"The core to resolving the issue is for Japan to take legal responsibility for its actions and to make an official (government) apology,".....There is no moral or legal requirement for the Government of Japan on behalf of the people to take responsibility. Over 80% cannot remotely be held responsible, having been born after the event. South Korean President Moon Jae In needs to reflect on this fact.

There is little doubt that a number of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cabinet ministers  need to  consider their positions.

In the same breath South Korean President Moon Jae In, needs to accept that his pledges made during his election campaign could have consequences far beyond the appeasement of a civic group that hold the frail dignity of these subservient  survivors welfare to account on the political necessity to extract humiliation and retributive justice from Japans forthcoming generations.

The disbursed 1 billion yen (about $9 million) was offered and taken i good faith to support the affected women and their families, there is no obligation or requirement for it's return.

Slow news day for the South Korean president maybe. At the same time South Korea can apologise back for planting the comfort women statue in front of the Japanese embassy. Nothing wrong with a statue honouring those comfort women but to place it in front of the Japanese embassy?

We (most people living in Japan) know that this is all just a waste of time. Whatever Japan does, it may be settled for a while (as it has in the past) until someone decides that the apology wasn't deep enough or the legal payment wasn't big enough and everything starts all over again.

Japan deny and rewrite history , how can you trust Japan Abe government.

He should worry about THAAD debacle more though...

Atilla's post was spot on regarding the legal responsibility. I would have to agree with Smith on the apology. The 2015 agreement simply reinforces the legal aspect.

I say YES, do it (again).

But this time freaking erect a monument in both countries that says "We are over it! Done!

Respect the victims for sure, but please, enough of this political hogwash.

Imagine what good Korea and Japan could have done together instead of bickering this entire time.

And ... was there not Dschingis Khan who once came to eastern europe slaughtering people? I guess they have to ask the Mongolian Government that they apologize.

Hmmm... "Ask the Mongolian Government..."

Hmmm.... That proposition is worthy of a new, truly genius con.

NHK needs to play the n'th time Japan paid to these people, everyday in their international channel. Koreans seems to have "Bad Sectors" in their head and all politicians need their share of money.

Korea is difficult to talk about. The student's death is proof of this, broke the poster and badly ended it. Korea has a strong climate..

Like many here, I am so tired of this issue even being mentioned. Shouldn't President Moon and the S. Korean people be worrying more about their neighbor in the north. Can't imagine how I would feel if every Japanese person looked at me in disdain as I am an American. Yes, we dropped atomic bombs on Japan during World War II.

Well he has to ask for another apology or admit that the SK government didn't pass on previous compensation to those it was meant for, like critics in SK are saying.

If Mr Moon cannot understand the meaning of "finally and irrevocably" then there is no point talking to him at all. Japan should disengage from South Korea and limit official interactions to the minimum necessary.

Please can someone fly over in a light airplane and drop a couple of million flyers , saying the wars over..

Seriously how many times do we want to flog a dead horse..

war is war....

Every country in the world , that has been involved in war , has committed

war crimes.

No exceptions.

Abe is useless. For 5 long years, he can't cut the deal. If Abe can't make East Asians happy, he can't make anyone happy. That should be his number one job.

PM Mulan has a solution. I don't need 5 years, I only need one year. I will cut defence budget by half, instead of increase it. I then will use the saved money to pay for the past. I will make S Korea happy, I will make N Korea happy, and I will make China happy. Only then, Japan will be happy.

I say stop all this sorry money to china and korea and start funding the taxpayer money where its needed

When did China get "sorry money" from Japan? China didn't even get, or demanded, any war reparations from Japan.

@ThePBot

What does China get in return? No love from Japan, and no shame.

More worrying about the level of discussion and a little low .. man comes according to Darwin from the monkey you deny? North Korea is famous for its uninteresting solutions because of its brand that speaks to avoid us from afar ... and do not pour love ... much is lost ... the harm of young people who underestimated the danger and ignored the principle of Korea. In the south it is better but still armed

Ok I have a plan for South Korea.

first send all the money back plus interest rates.

second, let us withdraw all pas apologies.

third, pay for all the expenses so Abe can travel to Seoul and have a nice weekend. Maybe give some money to the alleged victims lft

This just means that any third party (USA) forcing two belligerent parties to fast track an agreement just doesn't work.

Before any future negotiations should commence it's necessary for Japan to first study and evaluate the reason why millions of dollars just can't seem to give satisfaction to the Koreans.

Matters that money alone can't settle must have some deeper human emotions that must be understood by Tokyo, no matter if those atrocities were committed 100 ' Star Wars' generations ago.

The fact that the wounds are still lingering and blistering raw like a cratered flesh with scalding lava overflowing it means any attempt at whitewashing history is just like pouring gasoline to the flame.

What Japan has not yet done is to take full advantage of the opportunity to strongly deter state organized rape by nations in the future by being the first nation to completely own up to doing so in the past and condemning it. As long as a nation is too embarassed about its past mistakes, it is not free to prevent them from recurring. So relations with its neoghbors is only one aspect of this and not necessarily the most crucial. If Japan becomes a world leader for women's rights, then future crimes elsewjere can be more easily prevented and prosecuted and the whole world cam be made better.

aleefJune 2104:40 pm JST

They don't accept the 2015 deal, but they accept the money. Interesting.

Exactly.

...will never work as long as Japan is not a willing participant.

The idea of "official apology" raises the bizarre idea of "official forgiveness". The idea of a nation offering an apology is almost meaningless. Nationalism stinks. Almost no one alive in the world today is responsible for what happened 70-80 years ago.

Learn and move on.

Japan can apologize to N Korea about Ianfu now to shift B M test site target from near Japan to S Korea.   Forget  extortion by new S K Govt.

I thought Mr. Moon would be much better than Ms. Park, but seems like he has to please the base. No matter what, Japan did wrong and lost the war so this will be on their backs forever. Perhaps do what Obama did? Go to the site, officially apologize to the one in charge now (Mr. Moon), but bring no money. I'm sure it's been done in the past, but sign official papers again. And the head of the govt., Mr. Abe should go. Korea can be such a boon to democracy in the world. They care for the environment, have an educated work force, want to live in a free society. If they moved on from this incident, they could truly become world leaders.

In reiterating his earlier stance announced soon after becoming president in early May, Moon stressed that the agreement made under the previous administration "is not accepted by the people of (South) Korea, particularly by the victims."

In no way does this nullify the agreement. Japan apologized and compensated the people affected back in the 1960s and once again has compensated them in this century.

You know, most Americans don't accepted Donald Trump as President but he (unfortunately) is still the President. By being American Citizens they agree to follow the election system as established by the laws of our nation. The law makes him president whether we like it or not.

It's time Koreans understand and accept that their elected leaders made a legally binding contract that agreed that the issue is permanently resolved so the world can move forward.

Abe's foreign policy is disastrous. 70 years after the war, East Asians are still not united. It is time for a change.

Last time, Japan apologized to S Korea and gave money to S Korea.   This time, Japan can apologize to N Korea and give money to N Korea. N may stays away from Japan.

The govt of Japan should make a mixtape video of all the apologies over the years - datestamped - and air it on korean tv every time it is requested. It should show the atrocities committed by the south korean govt against its own people in an encrypted form that south korean programmers can decode and air in multiple hidden locations to bypass south korean censorship.

A Korean friend who's studying at Ryudai told me that he's ok with the agreement and supported it.

But he came out a different man after visiting Yasukuni shrine.

When it comes to addressing issues that touches on brutal historical realities there is really no such thing as solely relying on the power of dollars and cents.

It's just like the constant refrain of the bellowing waves off those cliffs in Okinawa that seems to ask PM Abe et al, ... Where was your daddy during the war?

Abe's foreign policy is disastrous. 70 years after the war, East Asians are still not united. It is time for a change.

To be fair, the last thing East Asia needs is for some kind of "united" thing. The last time that happened, it was lead by Japan's "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" aka Imperial Japan.

The govt of Japan should make a mixtape video of all the apologies over the years - datestamped - and air it on korean tv every time it is requested. It should show the atrocities committed by the south korean govt against its own people in an encrypted form that south korean programmers can decode and air in multiple hidden locations to bypass south korean censorship.

....that still can't beat the countless of times politicians were on record of visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, the constant denial of atrocities, or that fact that they want to take back the previous apologies. Or what about, oh I dunno, that actual atrocities Imperial Japan committed that they constantly deny. As far as I'm concerned, the only mistake Korea is doing is asking for money. It lessens their argument. China on the other hand can easily say "we didn't take hush money from Japan".

mulanToday05:45 am JST

Abe's foreign policy is disastrous. 70 years after the war, East Asians are still not united. It is time for a change.

East Asians are supposed to be united?

East Asians are supposed to be united?

I think Mulan means a Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Today  03:06 pm JST

East Asians are supposed to be united?

I think Mulan means a Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Ah, so...

@ DaveAllTogether

What would South Korea do if Japan actually gave a "sincere apology"?

Claim it was not sincere enough, and repeat the shakedown a year later.

@ ThePBot

When did China get "sorry money" from Japan? China didn't even get, or demanded, any war reparations from Japan.

$20 billion in Japanese assets that were confiscated plus over $30 billion in ODA (Official Development Assistance), technological transfers, many very low to zero interest loans ... and international recognition for the Communist government.

In the past 30 years Japan, as China's largest donor, has paid for a considerable chunk of China's infrastructure and economic growth.

In addition, the Communists benefited from large amounts of not just military hardware but at least 10,000s of Japanese military personnel after WWII in their fight against the Nationalists.

Which underlines a problem in the way in which you are presenting your point.

"Which or what China?" Mao himself thanking or praising Japan for its role in weakening the Nationalists to the point where the Communists could take over.

Therefore, to have the Communists "compensated" for the damages done to the Nationalists.

There is a worrying trend of politicized revisionist presentations portraying old China as one in order to blame Japan for everything when, in fact, China was not just divided into many but at war with itself. For example the million of Chinese killed by Chiang Kai-shek when he breached the Yellow River's banks without warning the peasantry, are presented as victims or Japan.

Ditto Chinese victims of Chinese at Nanjing.

Sadly the average Chinese citizen is perhaps not the most objectively informed; and the anti-Japan English language activists, not the most objectively impartial.

New leader from S. Korea and China will demand apology from Japanese Government whenever S. Korea or China have changed new leader. How many times Japanese PM and Emperor has to apology for WWII atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers and takes responsible for peoples’ suffering? Next time, Japanese Government replay the recording tape which Japanese Governments apology for WWII atrocities and take responsible for peoples’ suffering cause by Japanese Empire Military.

Aren’t they willing to move forward and normal relationship with Japan?

Comfort women were not directly recruited by Japanese empire military and they were recruited by local businessman. According to diary of one of former Korean agents (I read in Asahi Shinbun), some of women were already working prostitute in local brothel and some women were bought from their parents. However, working condition of comfort women were not comfortable as what those women expected for. They were sexed up to 17 soldiers a days which they didn’t expect to sex with many soldiers. Some soldiers may have maltreating them but not all the times. Anyway, the new President must recognize his predecessor agreement and end the comfort women drama.

Davealltogether' remark about Emperor going to neighboring countries to apologize, if not out of sarcasm, has point in it. Yes, it is true that a few of fair minded Japanese premiers in the past expressed their regrets about wrong doings of Imperial Japan, but only to be denied and taken back so often not by street crackpots, but by politicians and figures of main stream in Japan. This has been making the people of neighboring countries confused and suspicious as to the sincerity of Japanese people. Emperor's visit to the neighboring for apologies will help the people thereof clear up their suspicion and will not give much about the nonsenses talked by crackpots.

is this Koreas ground hog day?

Let Emperor go to the neighboring countries for apologies. A few of fair minded Japanese primiers in the past expressed their regrets

about the wrong doings committed by Imperial Japanese, only to be denied and taken back, not by jerks on the street but by so called influential figures including members of Diet and cabinet ministers of Japan .These have been making people of neighboring

countries confused and suspicious as to the sincerity of Japanese. If the Emperor goes to these countries for apologies ,that surely would help build their trust toward Japan.

@Chop Chop

Comfort women were not directly recruited by Japanese empire military and

they were recruited by local businessman. According to diary of one of former

Korean agents (I read in Asahi Shinbun), some of women were already working

prostitute in local brothel and some women were bought from their parents. However,

working condition of comfort women were not comfortable as what those women

expected for.

They were sexed up to 17 soldiers a days which they didn’t expect to sex with many soldiers.

You are right about the the recruitment and who ran the business.

Funnily enough, I am just reading John Dower's 'Embracing Defeat' and in it he account for Japanese comfort women for the Americans after defeat. He, as an honest American historian.

He records that the Japanese comfort women for the Americans were forced to service up to 60 men a day. Many were coerced into doing so, many little more than starving teens with no other means of support, many unhappy circumstance, e.g. girls committing suicide. Of course, the US military had to have segregated brothels for black and white soldiers.

He records, that the Japanese women were actually surprise to discover that the Black American soldiers treated them much better.

I have a feeling that much of this hullabaloo has been caused by individuals and parties who wanted to hide their own war time guilts, and for whom Japan is just a soft target.

Aren’t they willing to move forward and normal relationship with Japan?

Well, if we move forward from WWII, past the Korean War where there were up to 1,000,000 women in the Industry serving Americans, into the 1970s, we find the Korea governmnent prostituting and encouraging the prostitution of its own women to Japanese sex tourists as a significance "tool" for reaping foreign currency.

Therefore, I'd say using their women for extracting foreign currency has been "normal relationships" for some time. It was, after all, part of Korea's tributary system with China too. And not just girls but also young boys.

Korea had a chance to start on the world stage with a clean slate. None of the West really know anything about it, except from the soldiers who had been there. I think all this posturing is going to backfire on it as most of the truth about Korea seeps out and they are going to be seen as the biggest hypocrites and racketeers in Asia.

Japan should be fighting its own corner far more strongly.

Here they roll again!

The deal between Park and Abe was too bad, totally unacceptable, thats why aplogy from Japan is badly needed

How many apologies have they had for what Koreans themselves carried out? For what Koreans are doing to Koreans in this very day and age?

Will every new president need one?

I think Korea should be more concerned about what is going on under their very nose today, and the high use and exploitation of prostitutes in their own cities and abroad.

This year a South Korean court found that the government had broken the law during the 1960s and ’70s by detaining prostitutes who catered to American soldiers, and by forcing them to undergo treatment for venereal diseases. The women claimed to have been cheated by job-placement agencies and were held in debt to pimps, teenagers forced to services G.I.s every day with no day off, caught and beaten, debts raised and so on.

Same as Koreans are doing in the Philippines, in the US, in Australia, and back at home.

They are trying to smear Japan for what is part of their very own culture, and they know because the police and government have been involved in it too.

The politician is just posturing for a certain part of the Korean voters, e.g. when he also came out and said he opposes homosexuality.

As Korea wishes for unification with North Korea, there are many North Korean supporters. They will promote alliance destruction activities in Korea, the United States and Japan to reduce US allies. That's why they make so many comfort women in the United States, And oppose THAAD deployment, participating in the movement against the Okinawa US military base. And these trends are also beneficial to China, so China supports them and uses it for Japan - US alliance destruction work.

Therefore, these problems never end even if Japan compensates anything.