■Japan, South Korea should immediately resolve comfort women issue：
Distrust continues between Japan and South Korea despite the fact that they are neighboring countries with only a narrow sea between them. But a move made last year, which was revealed earlier this month, could become a breakthrough to overcome the deadlock.
In 2012, the government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and the South Korean government of President Lee Myung-bak held talks to resolve the "comfort women" issue of the wartime Japanese army and got to a point that was extremely close to reaching a political settlement. “Comfort women” is a euphemism for the women, many of them from the Korean Peninsula, who provided sex for Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.
The negotiations broke down due to the change of governments in both countries. Looking back on the progress of the talks, which were held by aides to the top leaders, however, we can find that it is possible to reach a compromise if the leaders have a strong will toward reaching a resolution.
According to testimonies of high-ranking officials of the Noda and Lee governments, the Japanese side presented the following proposal to the Korean side.
First, the Japanese ambassador to South Korea will meet with former comfort women and offer an apology to them. Then, Japan and South Korea will hold a summit meeting in which the Japanese side will express humanitarian steps to be taken, such as the offering of atonement money. The humanitarian steps will be funded by the government’s budgets.
As for the comfort women issue, the Japanese government maintains the position that the issue has been settled in the Japan-South Korea agreement on the right of claims, which was concluded when the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1965.
The proposal made by the Noda government is a maximum compromise to give relief to former comfort women while maintaining the government’s stance. It is a framework similar to the Asian Women’s Fund, which was implemented, starting in 1995, based on the donations of about 500 million yen ($5 million) collected from the private sector.
In the case of the Asian Women’s Fund, however, Japanese and South Korean support groups for former comfort women criticized the program, saying, “The Japanese government is avoiding its legal responsibility.” Because of that, few former comfort women accepted the atonement money in South Korea. In the talks held last year, both the Japanese and South Korean governments paid the utmost care in order to prevent former comfort women from rejecting the atonement money.
As for the Noda government’s negotiations, current Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “None of the talks have been taken over by our administration (of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe).” Even in the Abe administration, however, some officials say that the government will look for ways to resolve the comfort women issue.
Current relations between Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye are so bad that they cannot hold an appropriate discussion even if they meet at international conferences. As seen last year, however, negotiations between the Noda and Lee governments progressed after the serious deterioration of bilateral relations due to Lee’s landing on one of the Takeshima islets in the Sea of Japan, which are administered by South Korea but are claimed by Japan.
If Japan and South Korea try to reach a political settlement, differing opinions could arise in both countries. But there is no doubt that both countries have to immediately mend relations by settling the issue of the former comfort women while they are still living.
Differing from the previous governments, the administrations of Abe and Park are blessed with stable political bases that can overcome thorny issues between the two countries.
Without letting this opportunity pass, they should take over the negotiations and immediately start working toward a final settlement.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 13
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一衣帯水の隣国なのに、日本と韓国の間では不信の連鎖が続く。これを断ち切る突破口にならないだろうか。
日本の野田前政権と韓国の李明博（イミョンバク）前政権が昨年、旧日本軍の慰安婦問題の解決に向け話し合いを進め、政治決着の寸前までこぎ着けていたことが明らかになった。
双方の政権交代によって交渉は頓挫した。だが、首脳の側近同士が交渉した一連の経緯を振り返ってみると、解決に向けた強い意志が指導者にあるならば、歩み寄りは可能だということがわかる。
日韓の前政権高官らの証言によると、日本側は次のような案を韓国側に示したという。
駐韓日本大使が元慰安婦に会って謝罪。それを受けて日韓首脳会談を開き、日本側が償い金などの人道的措置をとることを表明する。人道的措置の原資には、政府予算をあてる。
慰安婦問題について日本政府は、１９６５年の国交回復時に結ばれた日韓請求権協定によって解決済みとの立場だ。
前政権の案は、こうした政府の立場を維持しつつ、元慰安婦を救済するぎりぎりの妥協策だ。かつて民間から集めた５億円あまりの寄付をもとに実施された「アジア女性基金」の事業と似た枠組みだ。
アジア女性基金では、日韓の支援団体などが「日本政府は法的責任を回避している」などと反発。韓国で償い金をうけとった元慰安婦はごくわずかにとどまった。今回はこうした轍（てつ）を踏むまいと、双方は細心の注意を払っていた。
菅官房長官は前政権の交渉について、「私どもの政権に引き継がれていることはまったくない」と語った。一方で安倍政権内にも、この問題の決着を模索すべきだとの声はある。
安倍首相と朴槿恵（パククネ）大統領はいま、国際会議で顔を合わせても、まともな会談ができないほど冷えた関係にある。ただ、昨年、交渉が進んだのは、むしろ李前大統領が竹島に上陸して、両国の関係が極度に悪化した後からのことだ。
慰安婦問題を政治決着させるとなれば、日韓双方で異論も出てくるだろう。だが、元慰安婦の存命中にこの問題に区切りをつけ、日韓関係を修復することが急務なのは間違いない。
前政権と違い、安倍、朴の両政権は、両国間のわだかまりを克服できるだけの安定した政治基盤を持っている。
この時を逃さずに交渉を引き継ぎ、最終解決を導く話し合いを早急に始めるべきだ。
朝日 2013,10.14
http://www.asahi.com/business/articles/TKY201310140113.html?ref=reca
