By Chung Min-uck
A Japanese lawmaker has urged his government to take a responsible step toward providing compensation to the so-called comfort women in Korea who suffered sexual enslavement during Japan’s colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
“I feel bad that apologies and compensation for the comfort women are being neglected by the Japanese government. I think the Japanese government should respond to the victims’ claims,” said Ryoichi Hattori of Japan’s minor Social Democratic Party, in a phone interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday.
Tokyo has remained silent on calls for compensation, insisting it has already delivered in accordance with the Treaty of Basic Relations between Korea and Japan in 1965 when Seoul agreed not to demand additional compensation for the damage incurred during the colonial era in return for $800 million.
Hattori said that the Japanese government realizes the victims’ right to claim damages but insists it has no obligation to compensate as Seoul has relinquished any such rights through the treaty.
A Japanese court has ruled that the Japanese government has no legal liability to compensate the victims.
“It is just a matter of how you interpret the treaty. I personally think the sexual slavery issue was not included in the treaty. The two governments might have agreed on it but in reality an individual remedy for the sexual enslavement was not there. The Korean government is also to blame (for signing the agreement) but in the end I think the Japanese government should make the apology and provide compensation,” said Hattori.
The 61-year-old Japanese lawmaker also emphasized the need for a conciliatory gesture by the Japanese government.
“The Japanese government should show its willingness to settle the issue. Ambassador Masatoshi Muto should come out during the Wednesday rally and talk with the victims,” said Hattori.
Muto is the current Japanese Ambassador to Korea.
This Wednesday marked the 1,000th anniversary of the weekly rally held in front of the Japanese Embassy in Korea condemning Tokyo’s wartime atrocities while seeking a proper apology and compensation.
“Overall there aren’t many lawmakers like me in Japan (who are keen on tackling the comfort women issue). But there are quite a few who are questioning whether the issue can be neglected as it is now,” said Hattori.
Hattori is a first-term lawmaker elected as a member of the House of Representatives in 2009 representing the Kinki area, a south-central region in Japan.
Before entering the lower house he actively participated in trade union movements in Osaka, one of the major cities in the Kinki region.
He participated in various rallies in Japan, urging the government there to offer compensation for the victims of wartime slavery, extending help through many legal activities concerning the issue.
The lawmaker is a member of Korea-Japan Parliamentarians’ Union.