Japan’s latest apology to ‘comfort women’ just empty words without a full admission of responsibility

Japan’s most recent and controversial apology to the government of South Korea for sexual slavery committed by its military against “comfort women” during the second world war has raised important questions about apologies for crimes and serious human rights violations during armed conflict. What is the proper role of an apology for such massive crimes against humanity? What can apologies do and what should they not be meant to do for survivors and victims?

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The Japanese apology, which some have seen as part of a geopolitical deal struck between Japan and South Korea, has led to protests among the 46 surviving South Korean victims as well as victims in other countries occupied by Japan during the war. After working for 15 years on reparations for victims in over 50 countries, the International Centre for Transitional Justice found that many victims feel an apology unaccompanied by other forms of reparation does not constitute justice, even as material reparations, such as compensation, without a meaningful acknowledgement of responsibility also fall short.

An estimated 200,000 women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army just prior to and during the second world war. Japan established an extensive network of “comfort stations” throughout its occupied territories, to which “comfort women” were trafficked and used as sexual slaves.

Various expressions of regret and statements acknowledging the role of the Japanese military in operating the “comfort women” system have been made by government officials, but none, including the latest, has expressed an unconditional acknowledgment that Japan as a state was responsible.

As part of the latest “apology”, Japan pledged 1 billion yen (HK$65.2 million) for the creation of a South Korean foundation to support the surviving South Korean victims with medical, nursing and other support services. South Korea, in turn, pledged to “irreversibly” drop its demand for reparation, end all criticism of Japan on the issue and remove a memorial constructed by Korean “comfort women” survivors in 2011 in front of Japan’s embassy in Seoul.

Rather than fully acknowledge the state’s responsibility for initiating the system of “comfort stations”, the agreement offers a “heartfelt apology and remorse” but only for the “involvement of Japanese military authorities” in forcing women into sexual slavery. According to survivors and their advocates, this falls well short of a complete and meaningful apology. It does not recognise Japan’s role in establishing and maintaining the system of slavery. It does not accept legal responsibility for the violations. It fails to meet criteria set out in international human rights norms that a public apology must be an “acknowledgement of the facts and acceptance of responsibility”.

Our recent report, “More Than Words: Apologies as a Form of Reparation”, explains that the most meaningful public apologies clearly acknowledge responsibility for the violations and recognise the continuing pain of survivors and victims’ families. As it points out, apologies for massive and systematic war crimes and human rights violations should come as a result of consultations with survivors and victims’ families about the form, content and timing.