Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Japan Moved the Goalposts"… Refuting Japanese Motegi's Criticism of the 'Comfort Women Agreement'

Motegi Toshimitsu, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] As the Japanese government criticized the Moon Jae-in administration's response to the Korea-Japan comfort women agreement as "moving the goalposts," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebutted, stating that "it has been the Japanese side that has continuously 'moved the goalposts.'"

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out on the 1st regarding the remarks made the previous day by Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu (茂木敏充), saying, "It has been the Japanese side that has continuously 'moved the goalposts,' showing actions contrary to the spirit of responsibility, apology, and reflection that they themselves expressed in the 2015 comfort women agreement and the 1993 Kono Statement."

He added, "The Japanese side must recognize that without a correct historical understanding, the issue of Japanese military comfort women victims can never be resolved, and they must humbly acknowledge the historical facts of the comfort women issue and continue to reflect."

At the House of Councillors Budget Committee the previous day, Foreign Minister Motegi criticized the Moon administration's response to the Korea-Japan comfort women agreement, saying, "There are always situations where the 'goalposts' are being moved by Korea."

He also expressed agreement with the claim by LDP lawmaker Arimura Haruko (有村治子) that comfort women were essentially "comfort stations" during the Korean War.

In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official emphasized, "The coercion involved in the recruitment, mobilization, and transportation of Japanese military comfort women is an undeniable historical fact," adding, "The vivid testimonies of the surviving victims are stronger and clearer evidence of the coercion in the mobilization of comfort women by the Japanese military than any document, which Japan itself has acknowledged, and the international community has already clearly judged this matter."

He further referenced the 2007 U.S. House of Representatives resolution criticizing the comfort women issue and the 1999 report by UN Special Rapporteur McDougall, stating, "The fact that the issue of Japanese military comfort women victims is 'an unprecedented violation of women's human rights under armed conflict and a universal human rights violation' has been pointed out by none other than the international community."

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