2015 “Comfort Women” Agreement between South Korea and Japan
On December 28, 2015, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the South Korean and Japanese governments announced a “comfort women” agreement without the surviving victims’ consent. The two MOFA Minsters were Yun Byung-se from Korea and Fumio Kishida from Japan. This agreement, which ignored justice procedures, enraged the survivors and people who believe in and fight for universal human rights in many parts of the world. In Korea, the survivors and their supporters amplified their voices in unison to demand the nullification of the agreement. Confronting the vice foreign minister of South Korea, Sunnam Lim, the survivor Yong-Soo Lee (b. Korea, 1928) reprimanded him by saying, “Why are you trying to kill us [victims] twice? Because we had no country [national sovereignty], because we were weak, and because of national tragedy, we are still suffering. We are by every right, the daughters of Chosun [old name for Korea]. We witnesses of history are still living. You were supposed to meet with the victims before you reached the agreement. Are you ignoring us? Are you living my life for me?” [1]
In Japan, criticism against the agreement, which failed to adopt a victim-centered approach, came from politicians, NGOs, and citizens. On January 12, 2016, at the Budget Committee of Japan’s House of Representatives, a former official in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representative of the Democratic Party, Rintaro Ogata confronted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and requested that he offer a personal apology from his own mouth to the “comfort women.” In response, Abe repeated saying that “appropriate measures” had been taken. When asked to clarify, Abe said, “When I say ‘appropriate measures,’ I’m talking about the [Peace Girl] statue being removed.” [2]
On October 3, 2016, at another Budget Committee session, Junya Ogawa, a member of the Democratic Party, requested a letter of apology from the Prime Minister. Abe replied that an apology was “outside what’s been agreed upon.”[3] He added, “We have absolutely no such intention [of sending a letter of apology to the surviving victims of Japanese military sexual slavery].”[4]
As part of the agreement, Japan agreed to pay one billion yen (around US$8.3 million in 2015) in “charity” to South Korea to help victims of the “comfort women” system by establishing a foundation to help the survivors in South Korea. This payment amount is fractional compared to the US$500 million of Japan’s 2015 public diplomacy budget, which was tripled that year. The Japanese government also gave US$5 million each to the universities of Columbia, Georgetown, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Toronto to support Japanese studies.[5] From 2015 to 2018, 12.8 billion yen (approximately US$138 million) went toward establishing Japan House in London, Los Angeles, and Sao Paulo to spread the Japanese government’s interpretations on wartime history and territorial disputes.[6]
In South Korea, on December 27, 2017, the Special Task Force on the 2015 “comfort women” agreement between South Korea and Japan reported that part of the agreement was made in secret. In exchange for the money from Japan, South Korea was to establish a foundation to help the survivors, provide no support for other efforts to install statues or monuments related to “comfort women” in other countries, stop referring to the victims as sex slaves, and remove the “comfort women” [Peace Girl] statue in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. This agreement was denounced by the surviving victims and international community. Education for Social Justice Foundation (ESJF), a San Francisco-based grassroots educational organization, launched a joint international petition with other human rights advocacy groups and education organizations to demand nullification of the agreement, dismantlement of the foundation called Reconciliation and Healing (which was established with one billion yen), and the return of these funds to Japan. The petition was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea on January 7, 2018 (Appendix B). On January 9, 2018, the South Korean Foreign Minister Kyung-wha Kang announced that the South Korean government would return the money received from Japan as part of the 2015 agreement. On January 23, 2018, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Hyun-back Chung expressed her hope for the South Korean government to disband the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation by the end of 2018.[7]
On February 9, 2018, during his visit to Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics, Japanese Prime Minister Abe reiterated that the 2015 “comfort women” agreement was a promise between nations and the basis of bilateral ties. He also requested that the statue Peace Girl installed across from the Japanese embassy in Seoul be removed. South Korean President Moon Jae-in declined to remove the statue, stating that “the emotional damage sustained by the victims cannot be resolved through simple exchanges between governments and both South Korea and Japan should continue efforts to heal their wounds.”[8] That same year, during a September 25 summit at the UN, President Moon Jae-in pointed out to Prime Minister Abe that the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation had “failed to function properly due to objections from the ‘comfort women’ survivors and South Korean public” and that “we need to bring it to a judicious conclusion.”[9]
In addition to the survivors and civil society organizations around the globe, various bodies of the United Nations disapproved of the 2015 agreement. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women noted that it “did not fully adopt a victim-centered approach,”[10] while the UN Committee Against Torture stated that “[The agreement] fails to provide redress and reparation, including compensation and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible as well as the right to truth and assurances of non-repetition.”[11] Furthermore, the UN Committee Against Torture recommended that South Korea and Japan revise the agreement to provide the surviving victims with redress and reparations.[12] Highlighting the significance of reflecting the victims’ agency in reaching an agreement, in 2010, Rashida Manjoo of the UN Human Rights Council stated, “Adequate reparations for women cannot simply be about returning them to where they were before the individual instance of violence, but instead should strive to have a transformative potential.”[13]
On September 3, 2018, a few months before she passed away, 92-year-old Bok-Dong Kim (1926–2019) staged a solo protest in pouring rain, demanding the foundation disbanded. Only five days earlier, she’d undergone surgery, but she was determined to make an impact. On October 7, 2018, ESJF sent another petition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea supporting the disbandment of the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation (Appendix C).
In November 2018, the 15th session of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), held from the Nov. 5–16, included the first review of Japan on the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED).[14] Three civil society organizations—the Korean Council, Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace, and the Japan Federation Bar Association—submitted reports to the CED with recommendations for Japan’s compliance with the ICPPED.[15]
The Korean Council’s recommendations included a call for the Japanese government to conduct a full-scale investigation regarding the “comfort women” system and to adopt a victim-centered approach, inclusive of “comfort women” of all nationalities.[16] The Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace, based in Tokyo, urged the Japanese government “to conduct through fact finding research into Japan’s military sexual slavery system with a special focus on those who remain as disappeared, and to also ensure the rights to truth and reparations of the victims/survivors.”[17] The Japan Federation Bar Association submitted a report on July 12 with its continued request that Japanese public officials and leaders stop making “remarks impairing the dignity of former ‘comfort women.’” Referring to CEDAW, it further recommended that “the State party should address this issue sincerely considering the feelings of the victims, based on the recommendations by the international community towards resolving this issue.”[18] In 2016, CEDAW urged the Japanese government to take several actions, including ensuring “that its leaders and public officials desist from making disparaging statements regarding responsibility, which have the effect of re-traumatising victims; … recognize the right of the victims to a remedy, and accordingly provide full and effective redress and reparation, including compensation, satisfaction, official apologies and rehabilitative services.”[19]
In response, three days after the session ended on reviewing human rights issues related to Japan, the CED reported that there had been “a lack of adequate reparations for the victims” and called on Japan to report accurate data on the number of victims of military sexual slavery for an investigation to uncover the truth and to offer reparations to the victims.[20]
[1] Tootlewootle. “Former comfort woman Lee Yong-Su confronts foreign ministry official.” YouTube video, 2:16. Dec. 30, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjLqo4T8NXY&t=3s.
[2] “Shinzo Abe Rebuffs Japanese Lawmaker’s Request for Personal Comfort Women Apology,” The Hankyoreh, Jan. 13, 2016.
[3] “Abe Denies He will Send a Letter of Apology to Former ‘ Comfort Women,’” The Mainichi, Oct. 3, 2016.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Jeff Kingston, “Japanese Revisionists’ Meddling Backfires,” Critical Asian Studies, (2019): 2.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Mirang Choi [최미랑], “정현백 여가부 장관 ‘화해•치유재단 올해 안에 청산,’” Kyunghyang Shinmun, Jan. 23, 2018.
[8] “Japan PM Tells South Korea’s Moon that 2015 ‘Comfort Women’ Deal is Final,” Reuters, Feb. 8, 2018.
[9] Bo-hyeop Kim and Ye-rang Hwang. “Moon Hints to Abe that Reconciliation and Healing Foundation Needs be Disbanded,” The Hankyoreh, Sept. 27, 2018.
[10] Concluding Observations on the Combined Seventh and Eighth Periodic Reports of Japan, (CEDAW, 63rd session, C/JPN/CO/7-8, March 7, 2016), 8.
[11] Concluding Observations on the Third to Fifth Periodic Reports of the Republic of Korea, (UN Committee Against Torture, 60th session, May 11, 2017), 12.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Rashida Manjoo, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Its Causes and Consequences, (UN Human Rights Council, 14th session, A/HRC/14/22,April 23, 2010), 11.
[14] ICPPED adopted by General Assembly (resolution A/RES/61/177) in December 2006 came into force on Dec. 23, 2010.
[15] UN Treaty Body Database, available from https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?Lang=en&SessionID=1154.
[16] The Korean Council, (Written submission to CED, 15th Session, 2018), 14.
[17] WAM, (Written submission to CED, 15th session, 2018), 9.
[18] JFBA, (Written submission to CED, 15th session, 2018), 7–11.
[19] Concluding Observations on the Combined Seventh and Eighth Periodic Reports of Japan, (CEDAW, 63rd session, C/JPN/CO/7-8, March 7, 2016), 8.
[20] Wooyoung Lee, “UN Panel Recommends Japan to Compensate Comfort Women Victims,” UPI, Nov. 19, 2018.
In Japan, criticism against the agreement, which failed to adopt a victim-centered approach, came from politicians, NGOs, and citizens. On January 12, 2016, at the Budget Committee of Japan’s House of Representatives, a former official in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representative of the Democratic Party, Rintaro Ogata confronted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and requested that he offer a personal apology from his own mouth to the “comfort women.” In response, Abe repeated saying that “appropriate measures” had been taken. When asked to clarify, Abe said, “When I say ‘appropriate measures,’ I’m talking about the [Peace Girl] statue being removed.” [2]
On October 3, 2016, at another Budget Committee session, Junya Ogawa, a member of the Democratic Party, requested a letter of apology from the Prime Minister. Abe replied that an apology was “outside what’s been agreed upon.”[3] He added, “We have absolutely no such intention [of sending a letter of apology to the surviving victims of Japanese military sexual slavery].”[4]
As part of the agreement, Japan agreed to pay one billion yen (around US$8.3 million in 2015) in “charity” to South Korea to help victims of the “comfort women” system by establishing a foundation to help the survivors in South Korea. This payment amount is fractional compared to the US$500 million of Japan’s 2015 public diplomacy budget, which was tripled that year. The Japanese government also gave US$5 million each to the universities of Columbia, Georgetown, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Toronto to support Japanese studies.[5] From 2015 to 2018, 12.8 billion yen (approximately US$138 million) went toward establishing Japan House in London, Los Angeles, and Sao Paulo to spread the Japanese government’s interpretations on wartime history and territorial disputes.[6]
In South Korea, on December 27, 2017, the Special Task Force on the 2015 “comfort women” agreement between South Korea and Japan reported that part of the agreement was made in secret. In exchange for the money from Japan, South Korea was to establish a foundation to help the survivors, provide no support for other efforts to install statues or monuments related to “comfort women” in other countries, stop referring to the victims as sex slaves, and remove the “comfort women” [Peace Girl] statue in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. This agreement was denounced by the surviving victims and international community. Education for Social Justice Foundation (ESJF), a San Francisco-based grassroots educational organization, launched a joint international petition with other human rights advocacy groups and education organizations to demand nullification of the agreement, dismantlement of the foundation called Reconciliation and Healing (which was established with one billion yen), and the return of these funds to Japan. The petition was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea on January 7, 2018 (Appendix B). On January 9, 2018, the South Korean Foreign Minister Kyung-wha Kang announced that the South Korean government would return the money received from Japan as part of the 2015 agreement. On January 23, 2018, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Hyun-back Chung expressed her hope for the South Korean government to disband the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation by the end of 2018.[7]
On February 9, 2018, during his visit to Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics, Japanese Prime Minister Abe reiterated that the 2015 “comfort women” agreement was a promise between nations and the basis of bilateral ties. He also requested that the statue Peace Girl installed across from the Japanese embassy in Seoul be removed. South Korean President Moon Jae-in declined to remove the statue, stating that “the emotional damage sustained by the victims cannot be resolved through simple exchanges between governments and both South Korea and Japan should continue efforts to heal their wounds.”[8] That same year, during a September 25 summit at the UN, President Moon Jae-in pointed out to Prime Minister Abe that the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation had “failed to function properly due to objections from the ‘comfort women’ survivors and South Korean public” and that “we need to bring it to a judicious conclusion.”[9]
In addition to the survivors and civil society organizations around the globe, various bodies of the United Nations disapproved of the 2015 agreement. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women noted that it “did not fully adopt a victim-centered approach,”[10] while the UN Committee Against Torture stated that “[The agreement] fails to provide redress and reparation, including compensation and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible as well as the right to truth and assurances of non-repetition.”[11] Furthermore, the UN Committee Against Torture recommended that South Korea and Japan revise the agreement to provide the surviving victims with redress and reparations.[12] Highlighting the significance of reflecting the victims’ agency in reaching an agreement, in 2010, Rashida Manjoo of the UN Human Rights Council stated, “Adequate reparations for women cannot simply be about returning them to where they were before the individual instance of violence, but instead should strive to have a transformative potential.”[13]
On September 3, 2018, a few months before she passed away, 92-year-old Bok-Dong Kim (1926–2019) staged a solo protest in pouring rain, demanding the foundation disbanded. Only five days earlier, she’d undergone surgery, but she was determined to make an impact. On October 7, 2018, ESJF sent another petition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea supporting the disbandment of the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation (Appendix C).
In November 2018, the 15th session of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), held from the Nov. 5–16, included the first review of Japan on the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED).[14] Three civil society organizations—the Korean Council, Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace, and the Japan Federation Bar Association—submitted reports to the CED with recommendations for Japan’s compliance with the ICPPED.[15]
The Korean Council’s recommendations included a call for the Japanese government to conduct a full-scale investigation regarding the “comfort women” system and to adopt a victim-centered approach, inclusive of “comfort women” of all nationalities.[16] The Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace, based in Tokyo, urged the Japanese government “to conduct through fact finding research into Japan’s military sexual slavery system with a special focus on those who remain as disappeared, and to also ensure the rights to truth and reparations of the victims/survivors.”[17] The Japan Federation Bar Association submitted a report on July 12 with its continued request that Japanese public officials and leaders stop making “remarks impairing the dignity of former ‘comfort women.’” Referring to CEDAW, it further recommended that “the State party should address this issue sincerely considering the feelings of the victims, based on the recommendations by the international community towards resolving this issue.”[18] In 2016, CEDAW urged the Japanese government to take several actions, including ensuring “that its leaders and public officials desist from making disparaging statements regarding responsibility, which have the effect of re-traumatising victims; … recognize the right of the victims to a remedy, and accordingly provide full and effective redress and reparation, including compensation, satisfaction, official apologies and rehabilitative services.”[19]
In response, three days after the session ended on reviewing human rights issues related to Japan, the CED reported that there had been “a lack of adequate reparations for the victims” and called on Japan to report accurate data on the number of victims of military sexual slavery for an investigation to uncover the truth and to offer reparations to the victims.[20]
[1] Tootlewootle. “Former comfort woman Lee Yong-Su confronts foreign ministry official.” YouTube video, 2:16. Dec. 30, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjLqo4T8NXY&t=3s.
[2] “Shinzo Abe Rebuffs Japanese Lawmaker’s Request for Personal Comfort Women Apology,” The Hankyoreh, Jan. 13, 2016.
[3] “Abe Denies He will Send a Letter of Apology to Former ‘ Comfort Women,’” The Mainichi, Oct. 3, 2016.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Jeff Kingston, “Japanese Revisionists’ Meddling Backfires,” Critical Asian Studies, (2019): 2.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Mirang Choi [최미랑], “정현백 여가부 장관 ‘화해•치유재단 올해 안에 청산,’” Kyunghyang Shinmun, Jan. 23, 2018.
[8] “Japan PM Tells South Korea’s Moon that 2015 ‘Comfort Women’ Deal is Final,” Reuters, Feb. 8, 2018.
[9] Bo-hyeop Kim and Ye-rang Hwang. “Moon Hints to Abe that Reconciliation and Healing Foundation Needs be Disbanded,” The Hankyoreh, Sept. 27, 2018.
[10] Concluding Observations on the Combined Seventh and Eighth Periodic Reports of Japan, (CEDAW, 63rd session, C/JPN/CO/7-8, March 7, 2016), 8.
[11] Concluding Observations on the Third to Fifth Periodic Reports of the Republic of Korea, (UN Committee Against Torture, 60th session, May 11, 2017), 12.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Rashida Manjoo, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Its Causes and Consequences, (UN Human Rights Council, 14th session, A/HRC/14/22,April 23, 2010), 11.
[14] ICPPED adopted by General Assembly (resolution A/RES/61/177) in December 2006 came into force on Dec. 23, 2010.
[15] UN Treaty Body Database, available from https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?Lang=en&SessionID=1154.
[16] The Korean Council, (Written submission to CED, 15th Session, 2018), 14.
[17] WAM, (Written submission to CED, 15th session, 2018), 9.
[18] JFBA, (Written submission to CED, 15th session, 2018), 7–11.
[19] Concluding Observations on the Combined Seventh and Eighth Periodic Reports of Japan, (CEDAW, 63rd session, C/JPN/CO/7-8, March 7, 2016), 8.
[20] Wooyoung Lee, “UN Panel Recommends Japan to Compensate Comfort Women Victims,” UPI, Nov. 19, 2018.
