February 08, 2016
By AKIRA FUJIU/ Staff Writer
A group of scholars, politicians and activists--many of them supporters of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe--held a rally on Feb. 7 to attack the recent historic agreement between Tokyo and Seoul to resolve the contentious “comfort women” issue.
In the deal struck in late December, Japan will contribute 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) to a foundation set up by South Korea to help former comfort women as part of a “final and irreversible resolution” of the long-running controversy.
Comfort women is a euphemism for women who were forced to provide sex for Japanese troops before and during World War II. Many were from the Korean Peninsula, which was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
“An issue in which national security and Japan’s honor are at stake cannot be solved by adding and dividing by two,” said Tsutomu Nishioka, one of the speakers at the gathering in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district.
“That Tokyo and Seoul agreed not to criticize each other (over the comfort women issue) in the United Nations and other venues in the world could create a problem for the future,” added Nishioka, a professor of modern Korea at Tokyo Christian University and an author of books on the comfort women issue.
About 20 speakers took the podium including Takashi Nagao, a member of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party in the Lower House; Kyoko Nakayama, a member of the conservative Party for Japanese Kokoro in the Upper House; and Nobukatsu Fujioka, visiting professor of education at Takushoku University.
Kazuo Miwa, head of the Nihon Yoron no Kai (Japan's public opinion), a conservative organization, also blasted the agreement.
“We have steadfastly supported the Abe administration even though we are frustrated by his failure to continue to visit Yasukuni Shrine and for other reasons,” he said. “But the nature of the recent agreement is completely different from other concessions Japan has made.”
Yasukuni Shrine is a memorial to the nation's war dead that also enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals.
Abe has stayed away from the controversial Tokyo shrine since he came under fire from the United States and elsewhere for his visit in December 2013.
“It’s out of character for Abe to give a nod to the agreement,” added another speaker. “I will never ever approve it because it brings disgrace to our ancestors and nation.”
By AKIRA FUJIU/ Staff Writer
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