Japan Foreign Minister Arranging Seoul Visit to Settle ‘Comfort Women’ Row
By REUTERS

TOKYO/SEOUL — Japan’s foreign minister will visit Seoul on Monday to meet his South Korean counterpart for talks aimed at an early resolution to a row over comfort women, as those forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels are euphemistically known.

South Korea’s foreign ministry announced the visit on Friday after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to make the trip to Seoul.

The ministry said Kishida and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se would discuss topics of mutual interest, including comfort women. Senior officials will meet on Sunday.

The dispute has long plagued ties between the East Asian neighbors, although relations have warmed since Abe met President Park Geun-hye last month. That meeting took place partly under pressure from the United States, which is keen to see its two allies get along.

“I’m ready to rack my brains, do my utmost and sweat,” Kishida told reporters. “We have been trying to realize the agreement ... to accelerate talks and seek an early settlement. This is part of this effort.”

Suga reiterated there was no change to Japan’s stance that the matter of compensation was settled by a 1965 bilateral treaty.

However, the Nikkei business daily reported that Japan would propose creating a government-backed fund to help the former comfort women as part of a possible agreement.

The Nikkei, citing a government source, said one proposal was for a fund of more than 100 million yen ($831,877) that would pay out 10 years’ worth of aid at once.

Abe, like many conservative Japanese politicians, had in the past criticized a 1993 apology acknowledging the role of Japanese authorities in coercing the women. As prime minister, Abe has said he stands by the statement.

In 1995, Japan set up a fund that offered letters of apology signed by prime ministers and financial aid combining compensation from public donations and medical support from the government for individual women. It was wound up in 2007.

South Korea, which for a time appeared willing to put the issue to rest, has said those steps were not enough.

Tokyo wants assurances any resolution to the feud that might be reached will be final, Japanese government sources have said.

Helping to set the stage for Kishida’s visit, a South Korean court last week cleared a Japanese journalist of defaming Park. On Wednesday, its Constitutional Court also refused to review a complaint over the 1965 treaty.

日拋善意 南韓慰安婦問題有解

日本外相岸田文雄廿八日將以「慰安婦問題特使」身分出訪南韓，與南韓外長尹炳世會商慰安婦問題。

日本首相安倍晉三廿四日指示岸田於歲末前訪韓，推動解決慰安婦問題的協議，預料將提議由日本政府出資設立一個協助南韓慰安婦的基金，以解決相關糾紛。

日本經濟新聞引述日本官員說法指出，提案之一是「立即支付十年的援助款，成立一個援助基金」，金額將超過一億日圓（約台幣兩千七百五十萬元）。岸田說「我準備好隨時因應並積極努力處理日韓關係及慰安婦議題。」

慰安婦問題多年來被視為妨礙日韓改善外交關係的絆腳石，日韓領袖上月舉行近三年來首次雙邊會談後，同意加速談判步伐，儘快解決。遭控妨害南韓總統朴槿惠名譽的日本「產經新聞」首爾分社前社長加藤達也日前獲判無罪，南韓檢方放棄上訴。另外，南韓憲法法院本月廿三日認定「韓日請求權協定」不屬違憲審查範圍而不予受理。日本共同社引述外務省消息人士說法報導，南韓憲法法院的裁定成為「改善對日關係的信號」。

韓聯社指出，上述三項舉措為改善日韓關係注入暖流。南韓「朝鮮日報」廿五日頭版頭條以「慰安婦特使將訪韓」為題報導岸田即將來訪，反映南韓媒體高度關注此事。

但彭博報導，專家對日韓能否解決慰安婦問題看法不同。天普大學日本校區當代亞洲問題研究所所長杜加里克說：「這件事永遠不會結束，總會有些南韓民眾對日本所做的事不滿，也會有日本人的發言惹惱南韓人。但日韓政府若能在補償金上達成部分協議，至少能滿足南韓政府。這將是一大進展。」

日本東北大學政治學助理教授馬斯洛則認為，化解慰安婦問題將對安倍修訂日本和平憲法的計畫有幫助：「解決二戰時期問題是確保獲得鄰國和選民支持修憲計畫的前提。」

廿萬慰安婦 韓國人最多

慰安婦是指日本軍方在第二次世界大戰期間，透過各種方法從殖民地和占領區找來女性為軍人提供性服務。歷史學家認為，二戰期間日本強徵廿萬名慰安婦，其中以韓國人最多，但日本右派堅稱沒文件證明日本政府和軍方介入。

日本首相安倍晉三今年八月十四日（二次大戰結束日）召開記者會，發表終戰七十周年談話，以「戰時許多女性的尊嚴、名譽被深深地傷害，我們會銘記在心」等語做為對慰安婦問題的交代。

台籍慰安婦約兩千多人，目前僅五位仍在世，平均年齡為九十二歲。韓籍慰安婦則還有四十六人在世，平均年齡八十九點二歲。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/12/25/world/asia/25reuters-japan-southkorea.html

2015-12-26．聯合報．A13．國際．編譯陳韻涵