The 'Comfort Women' Issue Illustrates East Asian Dynamics

A statue of a girl that commemorates the World War II-era issue of

(CHUNG SUNG-JUN/Getty Images)

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - DECEMBER 28: A statue of a girl symbolizing the issue of "comfort women" in front of the Japanese Embassy on December 28, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met to discuss the issue of Korean 'comfort women' in Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.

South Korea and Japan announced Dec. 28 that they have "finally and irreversibly" resolved the issue of "comfort women," who were forced to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers during Japan's campaigns in Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. In the agreement, the Japanese government issued an apology on behalf of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and promised a one-time 1 billion yen (approximately $8.3 million) government contribution to a South Korean government fund established to assist the remaining comfort women. The South Korean government, in return, agrees to no longer bring up the comfort women issue with the government of Japan or at international forums, including the United Nations. Reactions to the agreement have been very mixed in both countries and beyond. In Japan and South Korea, some are voicing support and claiming this will remove a long-standing obstacle to better relations between Tokyo and Seoul.