Moon says he is always ready to talk with Japan over historical disputes

Here we go again with this endless story.

Here we go again with this endless story.

Come on, be a decent human being. How would you feel if someone complained about Japan's "endless story" of commemorating the atomic bombings every year? There were and still are real victims.

Well...looks like election is coming on in our neighbor South Korea.

South Korea and China could learn a lesson from the Philippines on how to move on.

Here's a long list of Japanese apologies:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan

Including this very clear apology by Prime Minister Murayama in 1994:

"On the issue of wartime 'comfort women,' which seriously stained the honor and dignity of many women, I would like to take this opportunity once again to express my profound and sincere remorse and apologies. With regard to this issue as well, I believe that one way of demonstrating such feelings of apologies and remorse is to work to further promote mutual understanding with the countries and areas concerned as well as to face squarely to the past and ensure that it is rightly conveyed to future generations."

And again here by Prime Minister Miyazawa:

"Concerning the comfort women, I apologize from the bottom of my heart and feel remorse for those people who suffered indescribable hardships".

And here:

"We the Japanese people, first and foremost, have to bear in our mind the fact that your people experienced unbearable suffering and sorrow during a certain period in the past because of our nation's act, and never forget the feeling of remorse. I, as a prime minister, would like to once again express a heartfelt remorse and apology to the people of your nation".

And here:

"Recently the issue of the so-called 'wartime comfort women' is being brought up. I think that incidents like this are seriously heartbreaking, and I am truly sorry."

And here:

"The Government again would like to express its sincere apology and remorse to all those who have suffered indescribable hardship as so-called 'wartime comfort women,' irrespective of their nationality or place of birth. With profound remorse and determination that such a mistake must never be repeated, Japan will maintain its stance as a pacifist nation and will endeavor to build up new future-oriented relations with the Republic of Korea and with other countries and regions in Asia."

And here:

"The Government of Japan would like to take this opportunity once again to extend its sincere apologies and remorse to all those, irrespective of place of origin, who suffered immeasurable pain and incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women."

I could spend an entire afternoon posting more of these apologies. It's time to accept some of them and move on.

I'm not an apologist for the Japanese side but me thinks Moon had better do some house cleaning on his side first; like widen and deepen the probe into embezzlement and misuse of funds for these women by agencies who are supposed to be representing them. I don't know how many of these agencies exist but it seems they control the narrative of hatred while lining their own pockets. Even one of the leading activists and victim Lee Yong-soo, has said that Japan and Korea should befriend one another to resolve this issue and not to foment hate.

Here we go again with this endless story.

Yeah I'm also sick of the endless sob story about Hiroshima/ Nagasaki etc.

Tell someone who cares or get over it already, it's been 75 years.

Apologies mean nothing if you don't acknowledge wrongdoing.

i think this will continue as long as Abe (revisionist) is in the office.

yup begging for money by blackmailing means nothing too

Moon Jae-in, continues to preside over a political/ diplomatic train wreck,

Moon Jae-in, politically pugnacious, belligerent, consumed in a red mist of loathing, seething resentment intent at any cost for retribution over thoughtful quite reflection that brings atonement, the essence of forgiveness and why it matters

Lee Yong-soo, with a wisdom so clearly lacking in every action/act the Moon Jae-in Government stumbles so incompetently.  

Lee Yong-soo plus the 16 fellow comfort women deserve so much better

"Here we go again with this endless story."

You know Who started started this "endless story?" In case you don't, it was Japan. The "endless story" will end when Japan stops hiding from the facts everyone knows.

It's OK.  His intention is cut Japan-SK relations.  The feeling is mutual.

So in the other story from today, Japan focuses on remembering the victims of WW2. When Korea focuses on their own victims, the Japanese tell them to move. Oh the hypocrisy.

Btw, an apology in Japan is not the same as in the west. It's lip service to save face and force the victims to silence.

Oh please, if South Korea cared it would have paid out the reparation money that Japan paid the South Korean government in their settlement agreement.

But not only did the South Korean government not payout as was agreed but also hid the fact for years that Japan had paid South Korea.

Japan paid, the fact that money never made it to these people or others is on South Korea itself.

It is about time all this stops South Korea needs to grow up.

@jeancolmar

Look up the term Moose, short for mousume (Japanese for daughter).

It was the term used by GIs during the Korean conflict.

These were girls whose parents passed them over (trying to use a less harsh term) to GIs for a fee as "domestics". These girls would follow the GI that paid her parents from place to place doing whatever he told her and on occasion if he gave her money she was to send it back to her family.

The GI had no obligation to give her any money he already paid her parents a one time fee.

So seeing this was being done in the 1950s imagine what was done during WW2 by parents.

IF Moon were honest about this issue he wouldn't have orchestrated the termination of the $10 million Japanese funds for assisting the few survivors. Which by the way is an enormous amount of help for 17 women in their 90's.

But we all know this has ZERO to do with the survivors and everything to do with maintaining Koreans' seething hatred and single minded determination to establish a PERMANENT industry of victimhood, one that indefinitely forces Japan to finance Koreans into the infinite future. Certainly intended to provide windfall benefit to Koreans who are multiple generations removed from any possible harm by Japan, and be financed by Japanese who are born multiple generations within the pacifist Japanese governance.

IF Moon were honest about the pain suffered by his people he would DO SOMETHING about the MILLIONS murdered maimed and raped as a result of Stalin's annexation of the North half of his peninsula, the civil war supported by Mao Zhedong and in general the thousands of years of Chinese and Mongol aggression.

But we all know that those countries are either nuclear superpowers or broke financially therefore can't be extorted. Japan the only neighbor with a pacifist constitution is the perfect soft target for just such a lowlife as Moon diverting attention away from his incompetence governing the ROK.

President Moon Jae-in vowed on Friday to spotlight the plight of South Korea's last few surviving "comfort women",

If this is really so aimed, why have President Moon and radical activists been trying to continue the campaign, now totally futile even against the will of former comfort women, many of whom failed to receive the fund (the activist group opposed the provision and Moon eventually and unilaterally decided to disband the programme)?

With the money embezzlement case being revealed, the activist group leader Yoon (also one of Moon's protegee) has been breaching public trust. Surviving former comfort women, now aged are victims in the exploitation of their "never-ending" anti-Japanese campaign.

"resolve a dispute with its neighbor over the thorny issue."

Resolved, Japan has paid so much Korean Won enough to own it. How much more do they think their land is worth. I really do not like to post like this but enough is enough. I feel for the victims but it was war and unfortunately while they should not happen in reality they do and always will. It has been a practice of war practice since before there was a Japan or Korea. Just move forward and remember those who suffered by not doing it again with war. There are plenty of things to do besides war, exploration, real scientific research for the better good of humanity etc.

@Peter Neil

Here's a long list of Japanese apologies:

Those apologies have been easily revoked by Japanese politicians later at any time. Listen to what ordinary naive Japanese say. Look at bookstores in Japan. Apologies that can be easily revoked are not apologies. We call those Japanese behaviors blatant.

https://dattarakinchan.hatenablog.com/entry/20181203/1543846906

A more accurate title and assessment of the situation might be:

"Moon says he is always ready to complain with Japan over historical disputes".

Come on, be a decent human being. How would you feel if someone complained about Japan's "endless story" of commemorating the atomic bombings every year?

I wish Japan would put a stop to the endless story of the commemorating of the atomic bombings every year.

On Friday, Moon also vowed to spotlight the plight of South Korea's last few surviving "comfort women", as those forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels are known, in efforts to resolve a dispute with its neighbor over the thorny issue.

Isn't this the same guy that was responsible for dissolving, on a whim, Japan's landmark 2015 apologies and compensation to former Korean comfort women?

What an utter hypocrite for saying he's ready to talk with Japan over historic disputes. I wouldn't trust a guy like him anymore than the other anti-Japanese nationalist politicians throughout South Korea. What sane person would want to hold any talks with a guy that acts like he's the model of diplomacy and tact, when he'll just as readily stab you in the back and renege on past agreements? No wonder Mitsubishi and other corporations and politicians have zero desire to work with these people. After all the apologies and offers of compensation from Japan, these South Korean politicians still strut around talking as if Japan has 'never' apologized for its past, and that THEY are the ones to finally hold Japan accountable. Utterly laughable.

And where's Samit already?

It seems to be something very Korean.

When the leaders are either not doing well or feel they are not in the spotlight enough they throw some sort of hissy fit.

The South brings up this issue and anything else it can complain about Japan, the North does similar things regarding the USA and Japan and fires off some rockets

You can’t talk to far right. They are mindset.

.. after effectively abandoning a 2015 pact between Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Moon's predecessor that had aimed for compensation for the women and an apology. "The most important principle of resolving the problem is 'victim-centrism'," Moon, who has called the deal flawed for failing to fully reflect the desires of the survivors, said in Friday's remarks.

The 2015 agreement was negotiated and agreed. Per the Agreement, Japan paid the compensation and PM Abe submitted an apology as requested. As soon as Moon came into office he ripped up the agreement, and the money paid by Japan has neither been given to the surviving CWs nor returned to Japan.

Moon needs to correct this situation first before Japan takes South Korea's word on anything seriously. The problem with South Korea is their belief that their "victim politics" allow them to break agreements.

JJ WToday  07:14 am JST

Here we go again with this endless story.

Come on, be a decent human being. How would you feel if someone complained about Japan's "endless story" of commemorating the atomic bombings every year? There were and still are real victims.

93 countries send representatives to the A-Bomb memorials. It goes well beyond just a "Japan victim" thing. Otherwise why would all these nations attend?

SPRINGToday  09:04 am JST

Apologies mean nothing if you don't acknowledge wrongdoing.

i think this will continue as long as Abe (revisionist) is in the office.

If Japan did not acknowledge any wrong doing, how could the 2015 CW Agreement have been reached? Can we stop parroting the false narrative?

Get so blame tired of this stuff. It's the same old same old, just like the "comfort women" thing. How many of the women and the laborers are actually left now? This is just a scam to get the present generation of Japanese to pay more and more for wartime misdeeds of the previous generation. And any "proceeds" from this effort, if successful, will most likely be divvied up between the descendants of the women and the laborers (not the actual victims), probably with a helluva lot of it coughed up to Korean politicians, lawyers, and agents. I side with Korea on a lot of things, but on this Japan should just say no, period. A deal was done and that's it. It's the fault of the Korean government to have taken all the reparations in 1965 and given none of it to the actual victims. This constant nagging at Japan on this makes Korea seem like a beggar country. Poland hasn't done that with Germany. Has it?

"South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday said his government was always ready to talk with Japan over historic disputes."

Then followed by bilateral agreements. Only to be voided later, everytime a new govt took over the administration of the ROK.

So judging from past events, having a JP-KR bilateral talk is alright. Striking a deal on the other hand should be a tad bit foolish, unless those ojisans running the Japanese govt had all turned amnesics!

ossan

Shinzo Abe denied women were forced into military brothels across Asia. He got criticized by his government and emperor. He was forced to apologies.

Is that an apology to you?

South Korea does not want to talk about it in good faith. Tell Moon to pound sand.

South Korea and China could learn a lesson from the Philippines on how to move on.

Eh, I'm not so sure about that. I have photos I took in the Philippines of a little roadside shrine to Douglas MacArthur expecting him to return again as a god and save them all. Memories are very long in that part of the world.

The "endless story" will end when Japan stops hiding from the facts everyone knows.

Probably not. Some South Korean political factions shamelessly use ithe matter as a fundraising and vote getting tool.

Moon ripped up the agreement that both S. Korea and Japan agreed was "final and irreversible". Moon decided that it was in fact not final, and was reversible.

Now he says he is ready to talk? The ball is in his court. What is Korea's offer as a replacement for the original agreement? Because right now, they're the whiners here.

And let's be clear. I was on Korea's side regarding the "comfort women", until Japan made a good faith effort to finally settle the issue, and Korea spit in their face after coming to an agreement.

Now it's Korea's problem, and their responsibility to come up with the solution. Japan is morally justified in sitting back and waiting for them.

South Korea squandered the payments Japan made as part of the 1965 agreement normalizing relations between them.

@Peter Neil

Yes, the Japanese government "apologized" but are those apologies being reflected through their actions? I don't think so....

Don't tell me you're actually being fooled into believing those apologies mean anything? Even as a Japanese myself, I know that it's all empty apologies...

Discussions about the past will not be easy and there will be many disagreement, but it's good to have the conversation going. I hope Japan and Korea can repair old wounds and become friendly neighbors in the near future.

How many times does Korea want to talk about things previously settled?

They'd have better luck if there wasn't any direct economic impact. That's solved. Non-starter. No amount of money will ever be enough.

Change the future. Ask for school textbooks and teaching of the subject to be changed. Get China and other Japanese "colonial" countries involved so the appropriate sensitivity is included. Use facts and clearly say what isn't a fact, but only best guesses by historians.

No more down playing by Japan, but Korea needs to move on too. Their school textbooks and actual teaching of the subject needs to be changed.

Today, Germany and France are planning to merge their military and overseas Consuls because the both have moved on. 41M French died in WW2, which is almost double the estimated Korean deaths. If those two can get passed it, Korea and Japan should too.

No one is asking America to pay the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki or offer apologies. That's the difference between Japan and S. Korea. We have good relations with America, while you have terrible relations with Japan who paid you and gave apologies already. Big difference if facts matter.

And unlike previlage S. Korea who already received compensation and apologies dozens of times from Japan, all the other Asian countries are moving on without the benefits of what S. Korea has received already. We have better relations with all other nations compared to S. Korea. If you learn anything is that we spoiled S. Korea, spoiled child, ex girlfriend, who always wants more money. Because apologies by themselves without money are not enough for the Korean, so more money has to be attached to any apology.

Few years down the line they will say it's not enough, it wasn't sincere, victims have suffered, we want more money, new apology, give us more 2030.

The South Koreans are using the matter to basically shake down the Japanese.

@Strangerland

Moon ripped up the agreement that both S. Korea and Japan agreed was "final and irreversible". Moon decided that it was in fact not final, and was reversible.

That is a typical claim of naive Japanese brainwashed by the politicians and the media. Any international agreement between states must be approved by the parliament or the congress to be effective. Without it, all so-called agreements are legally void. The phrase like "final and irreversible" is just political rhetoric to deceive naive people like you. It was close to a press conference, void of any legal action. Abe and Park could fool some naive people both in Japan and Korea, but not all people.

@Antiquesaving

Oh please, if South Korea cared it would have paid out the reparation money that Japan paid the South Korean government in their settlement agreement.

But not only did the South Korean government not payout as was agreed but also hid the fact for years that Japan had paid South Korea.

Japan paid, the fact that money never made it to these people or others is on South Korea itself.

It is about time all this stops South Korea needs to grow up.

Certainly, you have never read the 1965 agreement. S. Korean negotiators wanted 'reparation money', but Japanese counterparts refused it because 'reparation' means Japan did something wrong during the WWII in Korea. Thus, they agreed that Japan gives money "free of charge" ' to S. Korea.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Agreement_Between_Japan_and_the_Republic_of_Korea_Concerning_the_Settlement_of_Problems_in_Regard_to_Property_and_Claims_and_Economic_Cooperation

The 1965 agreement was the same as the 2015 agreement in deceiving people both in Japan and S. Korea. Japan never gave money for 'reparation'. Now, former forced laborers request the money for 'reparation' to the illegal labor. Thus, S. Korea supreme court ordered the Japanese companies in Korea to pay for the reparation, because forced labor is now considered universally illegal.

Japan still refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing in Korea during the WWII, but some Japanese claim that they gave money for reparation to Korea in 1965. It is oxymoronic.

"Seoul says the ruling must be respected as a decision by an independent judiciary."

This is the one thing about this case more than anything that puzzles me. Was there ever really an expectation on the part of the South Korean government that the government of Japan would actually abide by a decision handed down by the Supreme Court of a foreign country? Maybe executives at the Japanese companies ordered to pay were willing to consider conceding, because for any private sector company the bottom line trumps everything, but surely people in South Korea were not so naive as to think the government of Japan would just go along with that. Certainly not a government led by Abe.

The problem about this issue is the lack of evidences when it compares to Hiroshima thing. While the Hiroshima case is known by everyone, the so called "comfort woman" or sexual slave is still a theme that is not very clear yet making this issue confuse. Koreans claim that the Japanese explore them, but where is the records that show that they did this "job" for free? I don't doubt this awful thing could be happened, but I doubt if Korea was as victim as some says here since Korean soup opera portrays scenes where corruption was a common thing back in those days.

SPRINGAug. 15  10:19 pm JST

ossan

Shinzo Abe denied women were forced into military brothels across Asia. He got criticized by his government and emperor. He was forced to apologies.

Is that an apology to you?

Abe's comment was that "not all were forced", which is exactly what nearly all historians including South Korean scholars agree is the case.

Abe signed and submitted an official apology, pursuant to the terms of the 2015 CW Agreement, which Moon reneged on. Is this apology an apology to you?

Moon is obviously playing the "Japan card" again, because...

"Thousands rally against S Korean leader despite virus warning"

The demonstrators, many of them wearing masks and carrying the South Korean flag, paraded through rain near Seoul’s presidential palace, calling for liberal President Moon Jae-in to step down over what they see as kowtowing to North Korea, policy failures, corruption and election fraud.

https://japantoday.com/category/world/thousands-rally-against-skorea-leader-despite-virus-warning

Here's a long list of Japanese apologies:

As none of them are approved or certified by the Diet, nor from the Diet, they are hardly "Japanese" apologies. Government actions run counter to all of the apologies, particularly with regard to what gets put into textbooks. This is like a man saying sorry to a shop keeper for once robbing his store, then telling all his friends the shopkeeper was lucky to be robbed by him as he collected insurance money and realized he needed an alarm system and so he was not really sorry at all.

How many times does Korea want to talk about things previously settled?

So long as slaved workers were not payed even their due slave wages, I am afraid it simply was never settled.

That is a typical claim of naive Japanese brainwashed by the politicians and the media. Any international agreement between states must be approved by the parliament or the congress to be effective.

Which Moon didn't do, even though Japan and Korea had come up with what they both agree was a 'final and irreversible' agreement.

As I pointed out, Japan made the effort. Korea ripped it up. Now Korea is whining about no agreement - what do they propose in place of the 'final and irreversible' agreement that they already negotiated with Japan, and how is Japan ever supposed to trust that any agreement could be final and irreversible with Korea again?