Japanese Media: "Removal of Berlin Comfort Woman Statue, Diplomatic Victory... Korean Tactics No Longer Work"

On the 25th of last month (local time), a passerby is looking at the 'Statue of Peace' installed in Berlin, the capital of Germany.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Japanese media have celebrated the order by Berlin authorities in Germany to remove the 'Statue of Peace' erected in the city center as a "success in diplomatic persuasion."

On the 11th, the far-right Japanese media outlet Sankei Shimbun published an editorial titled "Removal of the Comfort Woman Statue, Diplomacy to Stop South Korea's Anti-Japan Actions." Since the 9th, this outlet has continuously featured articles addressing the issue of the statue's removal in Germany.

In the editorial, Sankei Shimbun stated, "The Suga administration, like the previous Abe Shinzo administration, is taking a stance to correct South Korea's anti-Japan actions and violations of international law," adding, "If the statue is left as is, the historical distortion that comfort women were forcibly taken as 'sex slaves' could spread. The roots of this malicious anti-Japan behavior must be firmly cut off."

It continued, "(The decision by German authorities to order the removal) is thanks to measures taken by Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, who requested the removal of the statue during a meeting with the German foreign minister on the 1st," and said, "This shows that South Korea's tactics of continuously installing comfort woman statues no longer work in the international community."

Furthermore, targeting President Moon, it harshly criticized, "Despite Prime Minister Suga urging action to resolve the issue during a phone call with President Moon on the 24th of last month, no action has been shown, and instead, there is behavior defending the comfort woman statue."

Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, held a press conference at the party headquarters in Tokyo after being elected as the next president in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election on the 14th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the 7th, German authorities issued an order to remove the 'Statue of Peace' installed last month in the Mitte district of Berlin. The German side stated that tensions arose between Germany and Japan due to the installation of an explanatory plaque that was not disclosed at the time of application, declaring, "We reject the unilateral instrumentalization of public spaces," but it appears that significant pressure from the Japanese government was a background factor.

Japan is celebrating this as a "success in diplomatic persuasion." The Japanese government reportedly repeatedly explained the contents of the 2015 Korea-Japan comfort women agreement during talks with Germany and also mentioned the accounting irregularities of the Justice and Peace Foundation, which has supported the statue's production costs.

Sankei Shimbun also described it as an "enemy's blunder," saying, "Strict scrutiny is pouring in domestically and internationally due to suspicions of opaque accounting."

Meanwhile, the Japanese government acknowledged the forced mobilization of comfort women and expressed an apology through the 'Kono Statement' announced in 1993 by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono Yohei.

However, through the December 2015 Korea-Japan comfort women agreement, Japan claims that South Korea confirmed the "final and irreversible resolution" of the comfort women issue and insists on the removal of the comfort woman statues.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.