Source: Global Network
[ Global Network report] Japan's "Sankei Shimbun" broke the news on the 10th. Sources revealed that when German Prime Minister Scholz visited Japan on April 28 and met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Kishida Go directly to Scholz and urge the removal of the "comfort women" statue in Berlin. In this regard, South Korea's "JoongAng Ilbo" stated on the 11th that Japan has repeatedly urged Germany to remove the statue of a girl symbolizing the victims of Japanese military comfort women, but it is very rare for the Prime Minister to directly communicate this. It is conceivable that the Japanese government will put further pressure in the future.
The statue of the "comfort women" involved was installed in the Mitte district of Berlin on September 28, 2020 by the Korean Association in Germany with the approval of the relevant authorities of the Berlin city government. Its purpose is to commemorate the victims of during World War II. The humiliating history of "comfort women" forced by the Japanese army. At the time, the Mitte District Government stated that the placement of the statue was in line with the trend of commemorating the history of World War II and liquidating the global colonial history. Regarding this matter, Japan quickly lodged representations with Germany and urged Germany to remove the statue. In order to avoid "falling into diplomatic disputes," the city of Berlin originally planned to demolish it on October 14, 2020. However, many Korean civil groups and local citizens demonstrated near the bronze statue, and the demolition order was withdrawn.
"Sankei Shimbun" reported that according to sources, during the meeting with Scholz, Fumio Kishida directly stated to him, "It is regrettable that the statue of comfort women is still placed there, and it is completely contrary to Japan's position." , Kishida also urged Germany to remove the "comfort women" statue in Berlin. A source from the Japanese government also told the media, "So far, Japan has negotiated the demolition through various channels, but this time the Prime Minister directly conveyed it, which will be a strong and powerful signal."
"Sankei Shimbun" also mentioned Notice that the base of the statue of the "comfort women" in question reads, "During World War II, the Japanese army forcibly abducted countless girls and women in the Indo-Pacific region and turned them into sex slaves." The media claimed , "These accounts are contrary to the facts." In this regard, a senior official of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in an interview with the media, "Accounts that are contrary to the facts cannot be shelved. Negotiations were also made with citizen groups (who installed the statues), but it was not smooth. Will Use general mobilization to achieve the goal of demolition. "
In response to this matter, South Korea's "Central Daily News" stated on the 11th that Japan has repeatedly urged Germany to remove the statue of a girl who symbolizes the victims of Japanese military comfort women, but it is very rare for the Prime Minister to directly communicate. After the Mitte District withdrew its order to remove the statue, it set the display period for one year. After that, the Mitte District government extended the display period of the "Comfort Women Statue" in September 2021 to September 28, 2022. Local citizen groups in Germany are Efforts are being made to preserve the statue permanently. The report also stated that under such circumstances, it is foreseeable that the Japanese government will put further pressure on this issue in the future.
