Japan and South Korea reached Agreement on Issue of Comfort Women

Japan and South Korea on 28 December 2015 reached an Agreement on Issue of Comfort Women.

The agreement was reached after a meeting between Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and Yun Byung-se, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea in Seoul.

It aims to resolve a decades-old dispute over Korean women who were used as sex slaves by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

The agreement is considered as historic as the issue had been a bone of contention between the countries for decades.

Details of the Agreement

• It officially recognises Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s apologies and remorse to all the women who suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women.
• For the first time, it also acknowledged Japanese government involvement in the comfort women program.
• Japan will supply 8.3 million US dollars in government funds to support the former comfort women.
• A special purpose fund, from the money received from Japan, will be established by South Korea to aid them.
• Japan agreed to fund a South Korean foundation, which will be established to aid the women forced into servitude, while also insisting the money didn’t represent direct compensation for wrongdoing.

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