"South Korea's Unilateral Commotion... No Apology Needed," Japanese Netizens Also Dissatisfied

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"Return Dokdo and Provide Compensation," Some Claim

"That issue (forced mobilization during the Japanese colonial period) is a domestic matter for Korea, and it is a natural response for them to take responsibility and provide compensation themselves. There is absolutely nothing for our country to apologize for."

"Japan has no debt. Everything was stirred up arbitrarily on their side (Korea), and they held trials and issued compensation payment rulings."

These are the reactions of Japanese netizens regarding the government's announcement on the 6th that a domestic foundation will pay compensation on behalf of the victims of forced mobilization during the Japanese colonial period, who received a final compensation ruling from the Supreme Court in 2018.

Yomiuri Shimbun Online Edition. [Photo by Yahoo Japan capture]

That morning, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, "The Korean foundation announced a 'solution to pay compensation on behalf of Japanese defendant companies'." The newspaper mentioned Foreign Minister Park Jin's statement, "We believe that we must break the vicious cycle for the people in the national interest without leaving these long-standing strained Korea-Japan relations unattended."

It went on to praise the move as "a significant step to resolve the issue that caused the deterioration of Korea-Japan relations." On platforms such as Yahoo Japan, where related reports were mentioned, Japanese netizens posted over 4,800 comments (as of 5 p.m.), showing intense reactions.

One netizen (yosyos*****) wrote, "Everything is a domestic issue in Korea, but they made noise and held trials as they pleased. They arbitrarily decided on compensation payments and came up with a solution." Another (abc***) said, "Does the term 'on behalf of' mean acknowledgment? 'On behalf of' means admitting that Japan is at fault," while others claimed, "It is originally compensation that the Korean government should pay" (*****).

Others mentioned Dokdo, saying, "The return of Takeshima and compensation are also necessary" (zer*****) or "As a Japanese citizen, I agree with normal diplomatic relations with Korea, but there are too many problems on the other side (Korea)" (mor*****).

Earlier, Foreign Minister Park Jin announced the repayment method related to the Supreme Court ruling on forced mobilization at the Government Seoul Office that morning. The government adopted a so-called 'third-party repayment' method, where the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will first repay the victims who received the final Supreme Court ruling.

Japan welcomed the move, evaluating it as "a measure to restore Korea-Japan relations to a sound state." At a press conference that afternoon, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said, "The Japanese government confirms that it comprehensively inherits the positions of past cabinets regarding historical awareness, including the Korea-Japan Joint Declaration (Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Joint Declaration) announced in October 1998."