Japan Reacts Strongly to Comfort Women Ruling... Yomiuri: "Absolutely Unacceptable"

Some Major Newspapers "Unfair Ruling... Concerns Over Seizure of Japanese State Assets in Korea"
Asahi Shimbun, First to Report on 'Comfort Women Issue': "Must Seek Resolution... Both Countries Bear Responsibility"

Major newspapers are expressing critical opinions regarding the Seoul Central District Court's first compensation ruling for comfort women victims. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] Regarding the Seoul Central District Court's first compensation ruling for comfort women victims, some major Japanese newspapers, excluding the Asahi Shimbun, have uniformly expressed negative positions.

Japan's largest daily newspaper, Yomiuri, stated, "The Korean court has once again issued a ruling that destroys the foundation of Korea-Japan relations," calling it an unfair judgment that does not recognize the internationally established principle of sovereign immunity (state immunity), and said, "It is absolutely unacceptable."

Sovereign immunity is a principle under international customary law that "a court of one country cannot try another country as a party to a lawsuit." Yomiuri raised criticism that the Seoul Central District Court tried the comfort women issue in a Korean court.

It added that this ruling has made it possible to seize Japanese government assets, and expressed concern that similar lawsuits and rulings will follow, pushing Korea-Japan relations into a more severe crisis, questioning whether the Korean side recognizes the seriousness of the situation.

The Mainichi Shimbun, in an editorial titled "A ruling that deepens confrontation," focused on the Seoul Central District Court's refusal to recognize the Japanese government's sovereign immunity.

It also warned that if the seizure of Japanese state-owned assets occurs in Korea, public opinion in Japan toward Korea will turn cold, increasing mutual distrust between the two countries, and emphasized that cooperation between the two countries is important amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.

Japan's largest economic newspaper, Nihon Keizai (Nikkei), criticized the ruling as "a case that shakes the foundation of trust between nations" and said it violates international customs.

The right-wing Sankei Shimbun urged the Japanese government to take a tough stance, saying, "We must not allow rulings that distort history."

Meanwhile, the Asahi Shimbun, which first reported on the comfort women issue in Japan and brought it to the forefront as the biggest diplomatic issue between Korea and Japan, showed a relatively neutral attitude by calling for problem resolution through diplomatic channels in an editorial titled "Seeking a solution based on agreement."

Asahi diagnosed the Seoul Central District Court's ruling as "a very dangerous situation that could develop into the seizure of Japanese government assets in Korea," but also stated that a "bilateral agreement" is important. It pointed out that both countries share responsibility for the difficulties in reaching an agreement.

Furthermore, Asahi criticized the Moon Jae-in administration for effectively nullifying the agreement achieved by the previous government without evaluation, and also criticized former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, the perpetrator side of history, for not showing a humble attitude.

It also urged the Japanese government to "exercise consideration so as not to provoke the Korean side."

Earlier, on the 8th, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of 12 comfort women victims, including the late grandmother Bae Chun-hee, in a damages lawsuit against the Japanese government, ordering the defendant to pay each plaintiff 100 million won.

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