'Comfort Women Statue Stake Terror' Japanese Far-Right Figure Suzuki Absent from Trial Again

Statue of a Comfort Woman Girl in front of the Former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Nobuyuki Suzuki, a Japanese far-right figure indicted for 'stake terrorism' against the comfort women statue, once again did not appear at the trial held after about a year.

On the 26th, Judge Hong Changwoo of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1 held Suzuki's trial, but it could not proceed as the defendant was absent. Following the trial in April last year, Suzuki's failure to appear in court again on this day has left the trial in a stalemate for eight years since his indictment in February 2013.

On this day, in response to Judge Hong's question about the progress related to the 'extradition of the criminal,' the prosecutor replied, "The Ministry of Justice is still in consultation with Japan, but it seems not to be progressing well."

In 2018, the court recommended the Ministry of Justice to request extradition of the criminal through the prosecution, and the Ministry of Justice filed an extradition request for Suzuki to the Japanese government. However, the Japanese side is known to have repeatedly responded only with "under review."

Judge Hong ordered the prosecution, "Actively confirm the progress, and if necessary, urge the extradition request more actively."

Earlier, Suzuki was brought to trial on charges including damaging the honor of the surviving victims by tying a stake inscribed with "Takeshima is Japanese territory" to the comfort women statue in front of the Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in June 2012.

Additionally, in April 2016, he was further indicted on charges of sending by international mail a model of the comfort women statue insulting the victims and a white stake model inscribed with "Takeshima is Japan's inherent territory" to 'Nanum House' in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, in May 2015.

The court postponed the trial to 11 a.m. on April 9 due to the defendant's absence.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 94 held a hearing on a damages claim lawsuit filed by two victims of forced labor during the Japanese occupation against Nippon Steel Corporation (formerly Shin Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation).

At the hearing, the legal representative of Nippon Steel reportedly argued, "The plaintiffs' (victims') right to claim compensation was extinguished under the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement."

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