Why no applause to Abe’s speech at the UN?

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said in a keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, “In particular, for the victims of sexual violence during conflicts of the last century, the pain and agony continues to this day. What matters most is genuine remorse and concrete actions. Responsible measures are called for that can restore the victims’ honor and soothe their pain.” This is a call for the Japanese government’s responsible action in dealing with the “comfort women” issue during World War II. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday, “Japan will support three billion U.S. dollars for three years to help women who were sexually victimized in troubled areas,” but he did not mention the “comfort women” issue.

Prime Minister Abe and Japan should face it squarely that some 190 UN members responded to Abe’s speech with silence instead of applause. The response is about the irony that Japan decided to help women in troubled areas, instead of dealing with its worst human rights violations by the Japanese militarism.

Minister Yun stressed in a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida that Japan should show a courageous leadership of dealing with the issues of the past, but Minister Kishida said, “It is already legally addressed.” Kishida also said on the compensation on the victims of forced labor, “If the Korean Supreme Court rules compensations to Japanese companies, the bilateral relationship will further aggravate.”

Japan has been calling for a bilateral summit with President Park Geun-hye at the G20 summit earlier this month. Without a fundamental change in Japan’s historical perception, a summit or an improvement in relationships seems unlikely.

It is true that the worst-ever relationship between Korea and Japan, which has been strained for more than one year, is a grave concern. Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s wife Akie Abe attended the Korea-Japan Festival in Tokyo on Sept. 21 and this could be a signal that Japan wants an improvement in the bilateral relationship. Korea needs to consider the sincerity of Japanese who held a grand march for three kilometers in downtown Tokyo with a placard “Let’s be friends” opposing anti-Korea protests.

To address the uncomfortable bilateral relationship, Japan should show its sincere regrets. It should show efforts to heal the victims’ injured hearts from the bottom of its heart. The bilateral relationship can be reset after Japan faces the historical issue squarely.