SJ comments

@Kazuaki Shimazak

The Contracting Parties confirm that [the] problem concerning property, rights and interests of the two Contracting Parties and their nationals (including juridical persons) and concerning claims between the Contracting Parties and their nationals, including those provided for in Article IV, paragraph (a) of the Treaty of Peace with Japan signed at the city of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, is settled completely and finally.

Read what your government officials are talking about the individual the property right, if you can read Japanese.

"そのため、個人の請求権は日韓請求権・経済協力協定や国内法で消滅したわけではありません。"

https://www.taro.org/2018/11/%E6%97%A5%E9%9F%93%E8%AB%8B%E6%B1%82%E6%A8%A9%E3%83%BB%E7%B5%8C%E6%B8%88%E5%8D%94%E5%8A%9B%E5%8D%94%E5%AE%9A.php

A full explanation by Japanese legal experts to enlighten brainwashed naive Japanese:

http://justice.skr.jp/estatement.html

The Japanese mind set is that we all belong to the state, i.e., there is no difference between the Japanese government and the Japanese individuals. There is nothing such as private companies: All companies de facto belong to the state. We have observed the same Japanese collectivism in the Kamikaze, the comfort women statue in Berlin and the Abe san statue. May I add one more? The Japanese government secretly press the Japanese scientific journals not to publish any article mentioning "the East Sea", and more surprisingly, all of the Japanese scientists obey it without any single exception. Scary. It is like the North Korean collectivism, or worse.

@OssanAmerica

Is it normal in South Korea to allow civilian legal matters that have already been addressed in a signed Treaty with another nation to progress? And is it normal for the South Korean government to refuse to abide by the Arbitration clause in that Treaty designed to resolve differences in interpretation?

Yes.

Is it normal that the government meddles in civilian legal matters in Japan? The Japanese government seems to actively engage in all kinds of civilian disputes such as the Berlin comfort women statue and the Abe statue made by civilians. Eccentric.

http://justice.skr.jp/estatement.html

@Kazuaki Shimazaki

As far as international law is concerned, treaties between States can be made with or without ratification:

Regarding the oral agreement on the comfort women issue, nobody signed any document.

Regarding the forced labour issue, study expert's opinions first before groundless and amateurish claims:

A full explanation by Japanese legal experts to enlighten brainwashed naive Japanese:

http://justice.skr.jp/estatement.html

http://justice.skr.jp/statement.html

@noriahojanen

You're totally mistaken. Japan has suggested brining the case to the IC of Arbitration while SK has kept refusing it.

韓国に第三国仲裁へ手続き要求　元徴用工問題で外務省

https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO46285800Z10C19A6EAF000/

The article you cited wrote as follows: 日本側は国際司法裁判所（ICJ）に提訴する構えもみせる。

So, what was the sequence of that? Did Japan take any action?

@Nihonview

The solution is pretty simple. South Korea should accept international arbitration on the issue.

Can you detail why the Japanese government never brought and will never bring this issue to the International Court of Justice?

(Hint: Japan can not get anything, but can lose huge whatever the verdict is. The consequences will be catastrophic.)

@Fighto!

There is NO issue to discuss. It has been settled completely and finally in 1965.

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.

A full explanation by Japanese legal experts to enlighten brainwashed naive Japanese:

http://justice.skr.jp/estatement.html

http://justice.skr.jp/statement.html

@Strangerland

I was in support of Korea’s position. The Japan made a good faith effort to negotiate, and the two governments agreed upon a “final and irreversible” agreement to settle the situation. Then the Koreans ripped it up and never put forth an alternative suggestion. The ball is in Korea’s court to figure out what exactly they want, and present that to the Japanese.

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 so-called agreement was never approved by the parliament either in Japan or Korea. 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.

In this case, the S. Korean government is wrong. They are too much influenced by the pseudo-science from amateurish environmentalists whose livelihood is just exaggeration and blackmail. This is why S. Korea is the only country in the world that makes a fuss on the release of radioactive waste. Of course, the Japanese government is also in part responsible, because of their lack of transparency.

@tooheysnew

The odds are that the current Moon will also end up behind bars. No tears if that happens

Yes. There are many people who believe like you in both Japan and Korea. But, Moon is historically the cleanest president in S. Korea. Under the former president Park, prosecutors tried hard to find any wrongdoing of Moon, but they gave up after realizing that it is virtually impossible.

Panic is the nature of human species, but science tells the release would not be so much problematic. Other countries also have released nuclear waste in the sea. A problem here is the credibility of the Japanese government and the TEPCO. The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

It is all rooted in the Galapagos syndrome of Japan. The propaganda of the Japanese government does work only within Japan, and many Japanese do not know what people in other countries think about them. Japan has successfully brainwashed the obedient Japanese people with distortion of history by assuming themselves as a victim rather than an aggressor. In the future, once escaping from the Galapagos, they may teach a truthful history to future generations, and allow more freedom for the Japanese press.

https://rsf.org/en/japan

The education system of Japan has been notorious in the world. The problem lies in Japanese history education in school, not in Korean schools.

For example,

Absent is a complete record of her imperial ambitions in the neighboring countries of China and Korea, of her provocation and slaughter in the former, and subjugation of the latter.

But old habits are hard to break. Effective authority seeped back to the Ministry in the 1950s and '60s as it took increasing advantage of a textbook screening law passed in 1949 for the original purpose of preventing the inclusion of ultranationalist indoctrination in teaching material. Turning this authority on its head, the Ministry eventually applied it to weaken textbooks' descriptions of Japan's wartime deeds. The Ministry also started. to supply local school districts with textbooks free of charge. Today, the local boards are free to decline a particular text, but only from a selection approved by Tokyo. The national government remains firmly in control of the material taught throughout the land.

https://www.heritage.org/asia/report/the-pearl-harbor-anniversary-japan-still-says-dont-blame-me

(.pdf version is available there)

University student Mayako Shibata told McClatchyDC in 2014 she "can’t remember any class where she learned why the attack on Pearl Harbor happened.

https://www.ranker.com/list/how-pearl-harbor-is-taught-in-japan/kellen-perry

After decades of obfuscation, Japan stated today for the first time that bungling within the Foreign Ministry 53 years ago was responsible for Japan's failure to declare war on the United States before launching its attack on Pearl Harbor.

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/21/world/japan-admits-it-bungled-notice-of-war-in-41.html

As a S. Korean citizen, I do not like those statues, which symbolize the totemism rooted in some Koreans (and Japanese, too). But, it was the Japanese government who caused this fuss. It is basically a civilian matter, and any government should not meddle in. It is deplorable that the Japanese government and many Japanese do not tell the difference between the state and the civilian, as they have been so much obedient to the government and society. We call it collectivism. Many Japanese do not seem to recognize this problem.

Japan

Rank: 66 in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index

Journalists have been complaining of a climate of mistrust toward them ever since Shinzo Abe became prime minister again in 2012. The system of “kisha clubs” (reporters’ clubs) continues to discriminate against freelancers and foreign reporters. On social networks, nationalist groups harass journalists who are critical of the government or cover “antipatriotic” subjects such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster or the US military presence in Okinawa. The government continues to refuse any debate about a law protecting “Specially Designated Secrets,” under which whistleblowers, journalists and bloggers face up to ten years in prison if convicted of publishing information obtained “illegally.”

From https://rsf.org/en/japan

FYI, 2020 WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX

42: South Korea

43: Taiwan

45: United States

66: Japan

73: Mongolia

from https://rsf.org/en/ranking

@oldman_13

So long as the anti-Japan nationalist groups and individuals in South Korea continue to have sway over Comfort Women and the country, and continue to spout lies about Japan and negate very effort by the Japanese government to apologize and compensate for the past (with excuses that past apologies were 'not sincere'), this issue will never have a proper resolution.

Your reply shows well that Japanese government and political leaders have consistently and successfully brainwashed their people to believe that Japan was a victim rather than an aggressor during the WWII, on the contrary to people in the other countries. Unless Japanese government and their people accept that Japan was the cause and an aggressor of the WWII, all related issues will never go away. Denial, fabrication and obfuscation have been the major features of Japanese diplomacy: https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/21/world/japan-admits-it-bungled-notice-of-war-in-41.html

Abe simply wanted to demonstrate that Japanese people overestimated his intelligence. He knows well that he is an ...

The city of Busan has managed the covid-19 very well, no confirmed case was reported from the beaches during the summer. Millions people visited there. Still, they are precautionary.

It is encouraging that the JPtoday uses the term "sex slave", considering the lamentable status of press freedom in Japan.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-politics-newsroom-insight/fear-and-favor-chill-newsroom-at-storied-japanese-paper-idUSKCN1PI36V?il=0

BTW, the indictment does not necessarily mean the defendant is guilty. She should be assumed to be innocent until the verdict by the court is made. Let's wait before spewing out all irresponsible claims.

@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.

@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.

@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

No mention of Korean victims at Nagasaki by Japanese in the peace parks and the Japanese media. Ethnocentric history education has brainwashed young Japanese to believe that Japan was closer to a victim rather than an aggressor. They and even do not know how and why many Koreans were dead by the atomic bombs. This kind of omission, obfuscation and distortion of history has been consistent, failing to evoke any sympathy from the world.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14672715.1991.10413161

That is basically a domestic legal issue, which neither Korean nor Japanese government are allowed to meddle in. Both Japanese and Korean government know it very well.

"そのため、個人の請求権は日韓請求権・経済協力協定や国内法で消滅したわけではありません。"

https://www.taro.org/2018/11/%E6%97%A5%E9%9F%93%E8%AB%8B%E6%B1%82%E6%A8%A9%E3%83%BB%E7%B5%8C%E6%B8%88%E5%8D%94%E5%8A%9B%E5%8D%94%E5%AE%9A.php

A full explanation by Japanese legal experts to enlighten brainwashed naive Japanese:

http://justice.skr.jp/estatement.html

http://justice.skr.jp/statement.html

"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function."

--Albert Allen Bartlett

@OssanAmerica

In other words, agreements and promises of the Government of the Republic of Korea has no credibility whatsoever. What a third rate country. Does the word "honor" exist in South Korea?

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 'agreement' in 2015 is just a political rhetoric to deceive naive people like you. It was close to a press conference.

@kwatt

Even if it was oral agreement, this is completely an official agreement between state and state whatever, because the former S Government agreed about it with Japan. That's why Japanese government paid 1 billion yen to the S Korean foundation's account after the agreement was settled. It seems to me S Korean government did lie about the agreement to get the money?

IMHO, it was a product of the two mindless and inept leaders from the both countries. The major difference is that one was impeached, whereas the other is still in power.

@OssanAmerica

South Korea and Japan negotiated and signed an Agreement in 2015 that "Settled the Comfort Women Issue permanently". 

Signed? This is a common misinformation of naive Japanese people. It was an oral agreement without any signature, which means the agreement is legally void.

During a briefing in Tokyo, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said it would be unacceptable under "international courtesy" if the statues' male figure did indeed represent Abe.

Suga San, look back at your own people first.

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

Fools and pseudo-artists seeking just money are ubiquitous. I do not like those shallow and nonsensical behaviours. But it is a matter of civilians. If any Japanese governmental official protests over it, it would be more comical.