Disir
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TOKYO —
Japan and South Korea broadly have agreed on the implementation of a landmark deal over Korean women forced into wartime brothels for the Japanese military, including over for what purposes the 1 billion yen ($9.8 million) planned to be disbursed by Tokyo to help the aging women would be used.
“We expect the money would be used for medical and nursing purposes,” Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters after he confirmed the agreement with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung Se by telephone Friday, adding that the details will still need to be worked out.
“The Japanese government will move forward with necessary procedures to promptly contribute the 1 billion yen” to the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, Kishida said, referring to the entity launched in late July by the South Korean government in line with the landmark deal.
Friday’s broad agreement came after Japanese and South Korean officials have been discussing the timing of the disbursement of the 1 billion and for what purposes it would be used.
South Korea has mulled giving out the disbursed Japanese money as “healing money” to former comfort women and their families but Japan had feared that such an offering would be deemed as reparations.
In the telephone talks, the ministers have apparently agreed that the disbursed money would not be considered as reparations.
Japan needed to ensure that the money would not be considered reparations as it maintains that all compensation claims were “settled completely and finally” under an agreement attached to the 1965 treaty that established diplomatic ties between Japan and South Korea.
“After hearing the needs of former comfort women and their families, the funds will be disbursed for the purposes agreed by the Japanese and South Korean governments,” Kishida told reporters.
“There’s no change in Japan’s stance that the question of compensation claims over comfort women has been settled,” Kishida said.
Japan is expected to provide the money to the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation by the end of this month, sources close to bilateral ties have said.
The deal signed last December was a milestone in Japan-South Korea ties that have often been marred by historical issues. Under the deal the two countries agreed to resolve the comfort women issue “finally and irreversibly,” with the terms of the deal including the 1 billion yen pledge to the South Korean fund.
The focus is now shifting to whether a statue of a girl in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, symbolizing comfort women, will be removed as called for by Tokyo.
Japan, S Korea agree on details of funds for 'comfort women' deal ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
That's progress, I guess.
Japan and South Korea broadly have agreed on the implementation of a landmark deal over Korean women forced into wartime brothels for the Japanese military, including over for what purposes the 1 billion yen ($9.8 million) planned to be disbursed by Tokyo to help the aging women would be used.
“We expect the money would be used for medical and nursing purposes,” Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters after he confirmed the agreement with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung Se by telephone Friday, adding that the details will still need to be worked out.
“The Japanese government will move forward with necessary procedures to promptly contribute the 1 billion yen” to the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, Kishida said, referring to the entity launched in late July by the South Korean government in line with the landmark deal.
Friday’s broad agreement came after Japanese and South Korean officials have been discussing the timing of the disbursement of the 1 billion and for what purposes it would be used.
South Korea has mulled giving out the disbursed Japanese money as “healing money” to former comfort women and their families but Japan had feared that such an offering would be deemed as reparations.
In the telephone talks, the ministers have apparently agreed that the disbursed money would not be considered as reparations.
Japan needed to ensure that the money would not be considered reparations as it maintains that all compensation claims were “settled completely and finally” under an agreement attached to the 1965 treaty that established diplomatic ties between Japan and South Korea.
“After hearing the needs of former comfort women and their families, the funds will be disbursed for the purposes agreed by the Japanese and South Korean governments,” Kishida told reporters.
“There’s no change in Japan’s stance that the question of compensation claims over comfort women has been settled,” Kishida said.
Japan is expected to provide the money to the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation by the end of this month, sources close to bilateral ties have said.
The deal signed last December was a milestone in Japan-South Korea ties that have often been marred by historical issues. Under the deal the two countries agreed to resolve the comfort women issue “finally and irreversibly,” with the terms of the deal including the 1 billion yen pledge to the South Korean fund.
The focus is now shifting to whether a statue of a girl in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, symbolizing comfort women, will be removed as called for by Tokyo.
Japan, S Korea agree on details of funds for 'comfort women' deal ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
That's progress, I guess.
