A Consideration of the so-called Comfort Women Problem in Japan-Korea Relations: Embracing the Difficulties in the International Legal and Policy Debate

Koji Teraya University of Tokyo
Building 3 of Faculty of Law, the University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bukyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 113-0033.
Corresponding Author: teraya@j.u-tokyo.ac.jp
ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
The main purpose of this short essay is to mitigate harsh debate about 'comfort women.' Although it is not expected to be resolved in the foreseeable future, understanding the structure of the problem based on the fact-finding and legal analysis would enable the two peoples to seek a better solution. The author claims that: (1) although some of the historical facts remain unclear, and some people tend to focus too much attention on fact-finding, from the viewpoint of international law, sufficient evidence has been revealed to confirm Japan's responsibility for its conduct in the Second World War, and Japan does not and should not deny the relevant historical facts; (2) Japan was absolved of its responsibility by the 1965 Agreement in a legal sense; and (3) having said that, this case reveals the limits of the positivistic legal approach, and the Asian Women's Fund can be one legitimate way of dealing with this problem.

Keywords: Enforced Sexual Slaves, Crimes against Humanity, Reparation for Individual Victims, The 1965 Korea-Japan Agreement, The San Francisco Peace Treaty

The Full Text is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2013.6.1.09

Remedying "Enforced Sexual Slavery": Validating Victims' Reparation Claims against Japan

Seong Phil Hong Yonsei University School of Law
50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749 Korea.
Corresponding Author: hsphil@gmail.com
ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
It has been over two decades since the Japanese practice of enforced sexual slavery began to receive widespread attention. Yet despite numerous international efforts to urge Japan to squarely acknowledge its moral and legal responsibility, there has been no meaningful progress to resolve this matter. This work revisits the issue of enforced sexual slavery as it stands today. The Japanese practice of enforced sexual slavery was a clear violation of international law at the time. Therefore, individual victims have valid legal claims for reparation against the Japanese government. The first half of this article reconfirms the illegality of the practice of enforced sexual slavery. The remainder summarizes and vindicates the claims of the victims once again. This research suggests how to remedy the victims' rights and discusses how to implement reparation. It also contends that Japan owes reparations and legitimate remedial measures to the victims that go beyond monetary compensation in line with the rules of contemporary international law.

Keywords: Enforced Sexual Slaves, Crimes against Humanity, Reparation for Individual Victims, The 1965 Korea-Japan Agreement, The San Francisco Peace Treaty

The Full Text is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2013.6.1.08