China’s foreign ministry yesterday said it would “wait and see” how sincere Japan was after South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement to resolve the issue of “comfort women”.
“Comfort women” is a euphemism for those who were forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels, an issue that has long plagued ties between South Korea and Japan, as well as between China and Japan.
On Monday, the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea said in Seoul the issue would be “finally and irreversibly resolved” if all conditions were met.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Japan’s history of militarism and aggression had brought deep suffering to China and other Asian countries.
“We have always consistently asked Japan to accurately face up to its history of aggression, learn the lessons of history and take concrete actions to win the trust of its Asian neighbours and the international community,” Lu told reporters.
Chinese academics estimate about 200,000 Chinese women were forced to work as “comfort women”.
Lu said China again urged Japan to face up to its history of aggression and deal with the issue responsibly.
When asked whether China believed Japan was sincere in resolving the issue, Lu said the government would be watching.
“Just like you, as for whether Japan can do it, if its words and actions are consistent from start to finish, we will wait and see.”
Chinese ties with Japan have long been troubled by a territorial dispute and what China sees as Japan’s failure to properly atone for wartime atrocities, as well as regional rivalry and military suspicion.
But relations have improved since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in 2014.
A front-page commentary in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, the newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, said the “comfort women” issue formed one part of the history of Japanese aggression.
“The possibility of the Japanese government going back on its word still exists,” it said. “The ghosts of the history of aggression could, from time to time, stir up trouble again”.
Meanwhile Taiwan yesterday called on Japan to apologise and compensate the island’s wartime sex slaves.
Japan offered a “heartfelt apology” and a 1bn yen ($8.3mn) payment to the South Koreans on Monday. The deal was hailed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a “new era” for relations, which had been soured by the unresolved issue.
Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou urged Japan, which ruled the island from 1895-1945, to take the same measures over Taiwanese comfort women.
“The government’s stance is to demand the Japanese government apologise to the comfort women from our country during World War II, to compensate them, and to return justice and dignity to them,” Ma told reporters yesterday.
“We hope the Japanese government can do better and take better care of the comfort women’s welfare and dignity. Our stance has not changed.”
Ma has instructed Taiwan’s representative to Japan to request immediate negotiations on the issue, according to his spokesman Charles Chen.
“We hope for concrete progress for the matter in the near future... Japan understands our demands and is willing to consider,” said Foreign Minister David Lin.
“We think there will be progress on the matter but we can’t predict the results.”
The issue of comfort women and a Japanese apology remains politically charged in Taiwan and sparks regular protests.
But time is running out as the number of surviving sex slaves is falling rapidly due to old age. Out of 58 known Taiwanese survivors who had come forward, 54 have died, said the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation, which has been assisting the women.
The foundation estimates that at least 2,000 Taiwanese women could have been forced to be comfort women.
“South Korea is only the beginning and Japan should consider how to resolve the issue with the ageing comfort women in Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Indonesia, who expect an apology and compensation,” said Kang Shu-hua, director of the foundation.
“We hope the last four remaining survivors who now average 91 years old can obtain a formal response from Japan in the shortest time.”
