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South Korea Still Seeking Compensation from Japan for World War II Era Atrocities

© AP Photo / Shuji KajiyamaJapanese men clad in outdated military costumes march in to pay respects to the country's war dead at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015
Japanese men clad in outdated military costumes march in to pay respects to the country's war dead at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015 - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.03.2024
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Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have been complicated in recent years as the issue of Imperial Japanese atrocities during World War II has arisen once again.
One year after South Korea announced a new initiative to compensate Korean victims of World War II era Japanese forced labor, Seoul is still waiting for a response from Tokyo.
“When we make progress in our resolution, we believe that Japan will respond to it,” said South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk during a press conference on Tuesday. Tokyo has so far refused to clarify whether the Japanese government will contribute to a South Korean public foundation to compensate the victims, but Seoul hopes cooperation will be forthcoming as the initiative moves forward.
“We will strive to carry out the follow-up measures so that they will serve as yet another turning point for bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan,” Lim added.
South Korea’s highest court ruled in favor of a group of 15 forced labor victims in 2018, ordering Japanese companies responsible for the World War II era atrocities to pay restitution to the victims. The move damaged relations between Seoul and Tokyo, which have only recently begun to recover after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced the public foundation one year ago, urging the Japanese government to cooperate on a voluntary basis.
The United States has worked with regional powers, including South Korea, Japan, Australia, and India, to expand military cooperation in recent years in light of the threat the US perceives from China. Most recently the efforts resulted in a $75 million weapons package for local authorities in Taiwan allowing the island’s armed forces to integrate with foreign weapons systems. China has not been at war since the short-lived Sino-Vietnamese conflict in 1979.
Despite US-led efforts to unite regional players against China, the would-be coalition is beset by its own political divisions, as demonstrated by lingering tensions between Seoul and Tokyo. Imperial Japan, which allied with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during the second World War, committed mass atrocities in China and Korea, including mass rapes, massacres, sexual slavery, human experimentation, starvation, and forced labor. The abuses have been a source of diplomatic strife for decades, with denial and apologetics for the atrocities remaining widespread even among top Japanese leaders.
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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe generated outrage in 2013 by expressing support for Imperial Japan’s notorious Unit 731, which conducted human experimentation on prisoners of war from China, Russia, and Korea. Many have compared Japanese abuses of the period to the crimes of Nazi Germany although critics say Japan’s atrocities have generated far less scrutiny.
The United States succeeded in balkanizing Korea after World War II as a socialist movement took root in the north of the peninsula. Meanwhile, the United States backed an anti-communist dictatorship in the South which was responsible for its own set of atrocities. Liberal democracy only emerged in South Korea in the late 1980s, but tensions remain high with communist-led North Korea.
Previous South Korean President Moon Jae-in attempted to improve relations with North Korea amidst a diplomatic effort led by former US President Donald Trump, but current President Yoon Suk Yeol has broadly reversed Moon’s achievements. Recent polling reveals Yoon’s approval rating stands at around 39%.
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