Efforts are afoot to salvage relations between Seoul and Tokyo, which are at an all-time low right now. But no solution will be found unless Japan changes its attitude on the key issue right now, which is the matter of former “comfort women.” We again urge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to come to his senses on this.

A senior South Korean government official said on Sept. 26 that a summit could happen within the year if Japan shows good faith on the comfort women issue. It‘s a sign of gradual change from the administration in Seoul. Previously, Abe had former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori deliver a personal letter to President Park Geun-hye on Sept. 19, in which he proposed holding a summit. On Sept. 25, the two countries’ foreign ministers met at the UN in New York to share their views on various concerns, including a possible summit. The real force behind these changes has been the US, which sees stronger coordination with South Korea and Japan as key to its Asia policy. Recently, it has been working through various channels to turn up the pressure on them and get them to mend fences.

Unfortunately, nothing has changed in Tokyo’s position on the comfort women issue. On Sept. 25, Abe delivered an address at the UN General Assembly in which he talked about “a history of women’s dignity and honor being seriously harmed in the conflicts of the 20th century” - yet somehow he managed to say nothing about the matter of women being drafted by imperial Japan to serve as sexual slaves to its military. Meanwhile, his Liberal Democratic Party continues its drive to repudiate the 1993 statement by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono acknowledging that women were forcibly drafted into that service. Never mind expecting any results from a summit - at this point, any summit that does take place is likely to leave South Koreans even angrier. Abe’s speech about how he hopes his country can become a permanent member of the UN Security Council also conflicts with Japan’s attitude toward its neighbors, and the continued clashes over its refusal to recognize past misdeeds.

The Abe administration‘s attitude on historical issues since late 2012 is worse than anything we’ve seen from his predecessors. Today, historical concerns play a bigger role in South Korea-Japan ties than before, and the comfort women issue is front and center among them. There’s simply no way around it if ties are to return to normal. The comfort women survivors today are an average of 88.4 years old, and there are only 55 who are still living. As more and more of them go to their graves without any resolution, improving relations will only become that much harder.

There have always been people in Japan arguing for Tokyo to acknowledge responsibility. Even if it’s not for the purpose of improving ties with Seoul, they have said, it is still the right thing to do in historical terms. It would be nice to see Abe seriously heeding their message. Rather than rushing into a summit, South Korea should do what it can to make sure this happens.

　

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