South Korea and Japan are set to hold talks on Wednesday to discuss compensation for women who were forced to work for the Japanese imperial army as sex slaves during the Second World War.
Taipei’s Women’s Rescue Foundation said Monday that the talks are an encouraging sign. The head of the foundation, Kang Shu-hua, said that an international campaign for compensation started in 1992 when several of Japan’s neighboring countries filed a lawsuit over the inhumane treatment. However, Kang said, the campaign has gathered little momentum since 2005 when Taiwan lost a lawsuit against Japan. Efforts to get Japan to revise its laws also failed.
Kang said the talks set to be held on Wednesday can be seen as a breakthrough against the backdrop of the current circumstances.
“The [talks] will be helpful. Of course, [we are] not sure whether the talks will focus primarily on Korean sex slaves, or on Japan’s willingness to offer an apology or set up a compensation mechanism," said Kang. "But it’s a beginning and I believe it is also a positive direction and an encouraging [sign] for other countries afflicted by the [atrocity].”
Kang said she is concerned that it’s too late to compensate Taiwan’s victims. She said that’s because only 58 Taiwanese women who were forced into sex slavery during WWII have come forward since 1992, and that only five of them are still alive.