Anti-Japan sentiment revisited with 'comfort woman' statue

Japanese Ambassador to Korea Yasumasa Nagamine arrives at Gimpo International Airport before returning home, Monday. Japan recalled him and its consul general in Busan, Yasuhiro Morimoto, to protest the erection of a “comfort woman” statue outside the Japanese consulate in the southeastern city. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki

Japan envoy leaves Seoul, calls statue ‘very regrettable’

By Yi Whan-woo

Tokyo’s retaliation against Seoul after civic activists installed a new comfort woman statue outside the Japanese consulate in Busan is stoking anti-Japan sentiment here.

Many Koreans called Japan “shameless,” Monday, for accusing Korea of breaching the agreement reached between the two countries in December 2015 to settle disputes over Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during the Japanese occupation.

The critics claimed Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet have never been truly repentant over Tokyo’s wartime sex crimes and made the agreement in an attempt to leave it behind and move on. They referred to tributes paid by top-ranked Japanese officials to Class-A war criminals enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine.

They also denounced Japan’s retaliatory measures as “cheap and dirty,” claiming the Abe government is exploiting a leadership vacuum in Korea and the transition of power in the United States.

Abe said in October 2016 that he “doesn’t think about” making additional apologies to surviving victims in Korea, citing that the December 2015 agreement was “final and irrevocable.”

Referring to Japan’s offer of 1 billion won ($8.5 million) for the victims, Abe also said Sunday that Korea should be faithful in carrying out its part of the agreement. He added this meant that Korea will consult relevant organizations to resolve issues surrounding the comfort woman statue outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. Japan has been paranoid about such statues across Korea and overseas that were erected by civic activists.

The comfort woman statue in Dong-gu, Busan, was also set up by several groups of civic activists there. The local government office removed the statue after it was initially installed on Dec. 28, but put it back on Dec. 30.

To protest the move, Japan recalled its ambassador to Seoul, Yasumasa Nagamine, and its consul general in Busan, Yasuhiro Morimoto, Monday.

“Sayonara, Japan. We don’t want you anymore here,” a Naver user with ID micc**** posted regarding the recall.

Tokyo also suspended talks with Seoul over a foreign currency swap arrangement.

A different Naver user with ID js8**** wrote, “The statues will remain where they are until Japan makes a sincere apology.”

Daum user ng54961 said, “Just return the 1 billion yen and cut diplomatic relations with Japan because it’s not worth talking to Japan.”

Some Korean social media users criticized the Park Geun-hye administration as well, pointing out that the December 2015 agreement was made without consulting the elderly survivors of sex slavery amid objections from political parties and civic groups.

Against this backdrop, potential presidential hopefuls are calling for scrapping the sex slavery deal and renegotiating it under a new government.

Moon Jae-in, a potential presidential candidate from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), called the Seoul-Tokyo agreement “the most notable case of evil diplomacy.”

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a possible contender from the minor opposition People’s Party said the bilateral deal was “a diplomatic disaster caused by a dogmatic President Park and her government.”

Meanwhile, Ambassador Nagamine said he was “very regretful” about the statue in Busan before flying back to Japan.

He said a relevant meeting will take place upon his return. Morimoto flew to Japan earlier on a separate flight.

In a TV interview, Saturday, Toshihiro Nikai, a senior lawmaker from Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party said Korea was “eccentric and annoying” for causing the diplomatic stir after taking the 1 billion yen.