The Japanese government has agreed to pay one billion yen equal to about $8.3 million USD into a fund to support former South Korean comfort women. These women were taken from their homes and used as sex slaves by the Japanese military during World War Two. Japan also offered an official apology, and if they follow through and pay what they pledged, South Korea will see this matter irreversibly resolved at least legally.

This seems like a huge step to mend marred relations between the two Asian nations but not everyone is supportive of the deal. Some argue not to be intimidated by the aid for the surviving victims. They feel the deal was little more than a diplomatic cover for Japan. There is money coming directly from the Japanese government, but it’s not in the form of legal reparations. If it were Japan to be admitting at least that their actions in the past would be illegal! But they stopped short of that…

Japan also required South Korea to take down a statue memorializing comfort women that was erected outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. Many see this as another way that Japan is trying to bury its past and if it sounds like Japan is strategic with the way they conduct their public apologies it’s because they’ve had a lot of experience doing it since the end of World War Two.

Numerous Japanese political officials have apologised for various atrocities to different communities of people in a number of countries this includes apologies to Australian prisoners of war, American prisoners of war, Canadian prisoners of war, the people of Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, and to all people who had been affected by their brutality during the World War Two.

They’ve also apologized to the people of Korea in five different decades but for many this is still not enough partly because their track record of denial is just as long as their track record of apology. They have on occasion denied certain massacres calling them fabrications and, as recently as 2014, they’ve denied that comfort women were forcibly abducted by members of the Japanese military. Others feel their apologies don’t go far enough, that confidential documents outlining their involvement in war crimes should be officially acknowledged, the Japanese history books should be amended, and Japan should admit under international law the responsibility.

Taiwan is also demanding an apology to the women who were abducted from their country during World War Two, women who are also used as military sex slaves – that’s something japan has yet to admit.

It’s been more than seventy years since Japan surrendered but they might not ever be able to fully assume their war crimes and many people think they would never see what other repercussions of war communities are forced to deal with.