Abe: "Japan Can No Longer Be Belittled Due to the Korea-Japan Comfort Women Agreement"

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [Photo by AP]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe evaluated himself as having taken measures during his tenure to prevent South Korea from slandering Japan over the issue of Japanese military comfort women.

In an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun published on the 23rd, former Prime Minister Abe referred to the agreement on the Japanese military comfort women issue reached between the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan in December 2015, saying, "Even now, various media battles over historical issues are unfolding, but I believe it has become impossible to belittle Japan."

Former Prime Minister Abe emphasized the perception that the comfort women issue was 'completely resolved,' stating, "In 2015, we made a final and irreversible agreement on the major issue with South Korea regarding the Japanese military comfort women problem, and it received high praise from the international community."

Regarding China-Japan relations, Abe acknowledged that his visit to Yasukuni Shrine in December 2013 was criticized as "the worst since the normalization of diplomatic relations," but he evaluated that he held successive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the standpoint of a "strategic reciprocal relationship" and restored bilateral relations to a normal track.

Additionally, about U.S. President Donald Trump, with whom he maintained a close relationship during his tenure, Abe described him as "a very different listener than his image suggests" and mentioned, "He is an honest person, so we had many substantial discussions."