“Korea, an important neighbor… “Active relations through leadership between Korea and Japan”
“Continue to appropriately manage pending issues between Korea and Japan… Close communication is natural.”
The Japanese government expressed its position that it was “extremely regretful and absolutely unacceptable” when a Korean court ruled in favor of the Japanese military comfort women in their lawsuit against the Japanese government for damages.
According to a live broadcast on TV Tokyo’s official YouTube channel and Jiji News on the 24th, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, a spokesperson for the Japanese government, said at a regular press conference this morning, “This is a clear violation of the agreement between Japan and Korea under international law.” revealed.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno emphasized, “We will strongly demand that Korea take appropriate measures.”
However, as he has stated in the past, he pointed out that “Japan and South Korea are important neighbors who must cooperate in dealing with various challenges in the international community.”
He then mentioned North Korea’s ballistic missile launch and emphasized, “There has never been a time when close cooperation between Japan and the United States, Japan, the United States and Korea, and Japan and South Korea has been more necessary than now.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno said, “In this situation, we have been actively moving the Japan-ROK relationship under the leadership of the Japan-ROK leaders. “We will continue to respond in many ways,” he said.
He also said, “As we work together, we will continue to appropriately manage the various issues that exist. “It is natural to promote close communication with the other party,” he emphasized.
Earlier, on the 23rd, at the Seoul High Court Civil Division 33 (Presiding Judge Koo Hoe-geun) at the appeal trial of the damages claim filed by 17 people, including the late grandmother Kwak Ye-nam, against Japan, he said, “We acknowledge the plaintiff’s claim in full.” “The trial judgment should be canceled and the defendant should pay the plaintiff the amount of claim and delay damages listed in the attached sheet,” the court ruled. The amount of compensation is estimated at 200 million won for each victim.
Victims of Japanese military comfort women, including grandmother Kwak and Lee Yong-su, filed this lawsuit in December 2016, claiming that the Japanese government was responsible for compensating the victims.
The first trial ruling applied the so-called international law rule of sovereign immunity, which states that a sovereign state cannot be brought before another country’s court, but the appeals court overturned this and ruled that sovereign immunity was denied for Japan’s actions. The plaintiff’s argument was accepted that inhumane acts such as comfort women are an exception to state immunity.
In response, the Japanese government summoned Korean Ambassador to Japan Yoon Deok-min and strongly protested. He said he could never accommodate.
However, some Japanese media, including the Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun, analyzed that this ruling will have limited impact on Korea-Japan relations.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.