Comfort Women Statue Missing in the Philippines... Allegations of Japanese Involvement

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The comfort women memorial statue that was installed in Manila, Philippines in December 2017 and dismantled after just over four months has gone missing.

On the 15th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the statue, weighing over 1 ton, disappeared and the artist has also lost contact.

According to the Chinese nonprofit organization Kaisa, which supported the creation of the statue, the statue was returned to the artist after being dismantled. While Kaisa was looking for another location to install the statue, the artist decided to repair and store it, but one day contact was lost.

Kaisa stated, "When we barely managed to contact the artist, he said the statue was stolen from his studio," adding, "A statue weighing over 1 ton cannot just be stolen easily."

The artist claimed that unidentified men took the statue from his studio. However, the exact timing of the statue’s disappearance is unclear.

The statue, which had been installed near Manila Bay, was dismantled on April 28, 2018. SCMP reported, "It was hastily removed a month before the Manila meeting of the Asia Development Bank (ADB), led by Japan."

Kaisa alleges that Japan directly pressured Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. After the statue’s removal, a Philippine lawmaker reportedly received intelligence that Takehiko Nakao, a Japanese national and then-president of the ADB, demanded the statue’s removal as a condition for funding the Manila subway construction, SCMP reported.

However, the ADB denied these claims.

On December 30, 2018, the 'Statue of Peace' installed at the Women's Home in San Pedro City, Laguna Province in northern Philippines was also dismantled two days later due to protests from Japan.

The Philippines receives substantial Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan. SCMP reported that 39% of the ODA the Philippines received in 2019 was funded by Japan.

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