Japan’s Foreign Minister Announces Discourse on “The Korean Government Should Correct Compensation for Comfort Women”

Input 2021.01.23 01:04

Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu (茂木敏充) issued a speech on the 23rd calling for a correction led by the Korean government regarding the judgment of compensation for victims of comfort women under the Seoul Central District Law.

Foreign Minister Motegi said, “It is clearly contrary to international law, and we are very sorry,” and “Never accept it.” He said that this ruling contradicted the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement and the 2015 Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Agreement for Comfort Women. “I strongly demand that (the Korean government) immediately take appropriate measures to correct violations of international law.”

The Civil Affairs Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Jung-Gon Kim) said in a lawsuit filed against the Japanese government by 12 victims of comfort women including the late grandmother Bae Chun-hee on the 8th, “The Japanese government should pay 100 million won per person to the plaintiffs. ” The Japanese government has not appealed until 0:00 on the 23rd, the deadline for appeal, and the decision has been confirmed.

The Japanese government is in a position not to admit the trial itself, refusing to comply with this lawsuit by proposing the principle of “state exemption (sovereign exemption)” under customary international law that the sovereign state does not stand in the courts of other countries. On the other hand, our court judged that the comfort women case is a crime against humanity at the national level, and therefore has the right to trial in Korea and is not subject to state immunity.

As a result, plaintiffs can promote the seizure and sale of assets in Korea by the Japanese government as a means of securing compensation. However, there are observations that it will be difficult to seize assets such as the Japanese embassy in Korea under the protection of the Vienna Convention, which stipulated inviolability of foreign missions. As the plaintiff has to find the assets of the Japanese government in Korea that can be seized, it will not be easy to obtain compensation if the Japanese government does not voluntarily cooperate.

Immediately after the decision of the Seoul Central District Law was issued, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by inviting South Korean Ambassador Nam Kwan-pyo to Japan, saying, “It is very regrettable that (the Korean court) denies the principle of sovereign immunity under international law, and the Japanese government cannot accept it. .

On the 19th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an organization within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan, delivered a resolution condemning the judgment of compensation for comfort women to Foreign Minister Motegi and demanded the Japanese government to consider “resolute countermeasures” such as filing a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In this regard, Foreign Minister Motegi said, “We will respond with all options as possible.”