Factors affecting Japan in resolving the issue of jugun ianfu with South Korea through a ‘finally and irreversibly’ agreement between Japan and South Korea in 2016

Authors

  • Constantya Astrid Permata Sari Universitas Pertahanan RI
  • Usmar Salam Universitas Gadjah Mada
  • Makarim Wibisono Universitas Pertahanan RI
  • Tahan Samuel Lumban Toruan Universitas Pertahanan RI

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56555/sps.v8i1.1192

Abstract

Jugun ianfu or comfort women is a term for women who are used to meet the sexual needs of Japanese soldiers during the colonial period until the end of World War II. After rejecting the program from the Asian Women’s Fund (AWF) which was formed by the Japanese government to resolve the issue of jugun ianfu, activists and the South Korean government urged Japan to resolve the issue again. However, the Japanese government did not give a positive response. In fact, in 2014 the investigative team under Shinzo Abe stated that the statement acknowledging the direct or indirect involvement of the Japanese military in the creation and management of the comfort station was not based on facts and was the result of negotiations with South Korea. However, in November 2015, the Foreign Ministers of Japan and South Korea met and agreed to resolve this issue by drawing up a 'Finally and Irreversibly' Agreement. The author uses a qualitative method with the main data source in the form of literature to analyze why the Japanese government finally softened and agreed to resolve the issue of South Korea's jugun ianfu by compiling a ‘Finally and Irreversibly’ Agreement. The changes that occurred on the part of the Japanese government were caused by various internal and external factors, such as economic problems faced by Japan, decisive action from South Korea, pressure from the United States, the strengthening of the economy and defense from China and the increasing nuclear capabilities of North Korea.

References

AFP. (2007, Maret). ’Comfort women’ historian alarmed. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-03/12/content_824829.htm

Allison, G.T. (1971). Essence of decision: Explaining the Cuban missile crisis. Thirteenth Printing.

Asian Women’s Fund. (2007). Project by country or region. http://www.awf.or.jp/e3/philippine-00.html

Asian Women’s Fund. (2007). Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the result of the study on the issue of “Comfort Women”. http://www.awf.or.jp/e6/statement-02.html

Bender, J. (2016). This is the only chart you need to see about China’s increasingly global ballistic missile capabilities. https://www.businessinsider.in/this-is-the-only-chart-you-need-to-see-about-chinas-increasingly-global-ballistic-missile-capabilities/articleshow/52229992.cms

Brzezinski, Z. (1986). Game plan: A geostrategic framework for the conduct of the U.S.-Soviet contest. The Atlantic Monthly Press.

Choe, S.H. (2015). North Korean missile test was unsuccessful, south says. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/world/asia/north-korean-missile-test-was-unsuccessful-south-says.html

Cornett, P. G. (2016). China’s “New Silk Road” and US-Japan alliance geostrategy: Challenges and opportunities. Pacific Forum CSIS Issues and Insights, 16(10), 1–25.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Pendekatan metode kualitatif, kuantitatif, dan campuran. Pustaka Pelajar.

Hayashi, H. (2008). Disputes in Japan over the Japanese military "Comfort Women" System and Its Perception in History. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 617(1), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0002716208314191

Kim, K. (2015). ’Comfort women’: Japan and South Korea hail agreement. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35190464

Kim, M. (2104). Why Abe is out of touch on the comfort women controversies. https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/07/11/why-abe-is-out-of-touch-on-the-comfort-women-controversies/

Kimura, M. (2016). Unfolding the ‘Comfort Women’ debates: Modernity, violence, women’s voice. Palgrave Macmillan.

Klingner, B. (2015). The importance of THAAD missile defense. The Journal of East Asian Affairs, 29(2), 21–41.

Ku, Y. (2016). What is it for? Assessing the South Korea-Japan deal on the comfort women issue. https://www.e-ir.info/2016/02/18/what-is-it-for-assessing-the-south-korea-japan-deal-on-the-comfort-women-issue/

Miyashita, A. (1999). Gaiatsu and Japan’s foreign aid: Rethinking the reactive-proactive debate. International Studies Quarterly, 43(4), 695–731. https://doi.org/10.1111/0020-8833.00142

Sneider, D. (2016). Behind the comfort women agreement. http://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/99891?display=b

Snyder, R. C., Bruck, H.W., & Sapin, B. (1962). Foreign policy decision making: An approach to the study of international politics. The Free Press.

Soh, C. S. (1996). The Korean “Comfort Women”: Movement for redress. Asian Survey, 36(12), 1226–1240. https://doi.org/10.2307/2645577

Soh, C. S. (2001). Japan’s responsibility toward comfort women survivors. https://www.icasinc.org/2001/2001l/2001lcss.html

United Nations. (2014). Japan’s stance on ‘comfort women’ issue violates victim’s right – U.N. Official. https://news.un.org/en/story/2014/08/474572-japans-stance-comfort-women-issue-violates-victims-rights-un-official#.Vzj4UXD-LqD

Wolfe, S. (2014). The Politics of Reparations and Apologies. Springer.

Downloads

Published

2022-07-31

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2022): JURNAL STRATEGI PERANG SEMESTA

Section

Articles

License

Proposed Policy for Journals That Offer Open Access. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

Proposed Policy for Journals That Offer Delayed Open Access. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work [SPECIFY PERIOD OF TIME] after publication simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access)