South Koreans protest Japanese PM’s go to to Seoul

Several South Korean organizations rallied on Sunday to protest Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s go to to South Korea.

The protesters referred to as for Tokyo’s apology over its militarist previous, opposed South Korea-Japan army cooperation and demanded the withdrawal of Japan’s plan to discharge radioactive wastewater.

A bunch of activists from the Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea (SPARK) gathered close to the South Korean presidential workplace in central Seoul, the place Kishida held talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

“Japan should apologize for its illegal colonial rule and withdraw the Fukushima contaminated water discharge plan,” the protesters chanted.

South Korea unveiled a proposal in March to compensate South Korean victims of Japan’s pressured wartime labor via a government-backed basis financed by private-sector donations, which triggered a robust backlash at residence.

Forced labor and intercourse slavery victims, who have been pressured by Imperial Japan into intercourse servitude for army brothels throughout World War II, have demanded that the Japanese authorities sincerely apologize for its wartime atrocities.

Kishida informed a joint press convention with Yoon that his cupboard will proceed to inherit the positions of earlier cupboards as a complete by way of historic notion, saying his coronary heart ached over individuals who suffered onerous and unhappy issues.

His remarks may very well be troublesome to assuage the victims as many of the earlier Japanese cupboards didn’t acknowledge its accountability and make a honest apology for the wartime brutalities.

When requested by a reporter if his phrases have been directed on the Korean pressured labor victims, Kishida mentioned he was actually expressing his “own personal thoughts” in regards to the individuals who had the troublesome expertise, indicating that it was not an official apology of the Japanese authorities.

“The Japanese government is still denying the wartime forced labor issue, and the Japanese foreign minister has publicly stated that there is no such issue. I think Japan must make acknowledgment and compensation at the legal level on this issue,” a protester informed China Media Group (CMG) whereas attending the rally.

Some additionally prompt that the U.S. is selling stepping up the U.S.-Japan-South Korea army alliance to perpetuate its hegemony in Northeast Asia. 

One protester informed CMG that “it is the U.S. that is forcing South Korea-Japan relations to move toward a military alliance, and if South Korea-Japan relations move toward an alliance, it will not only intensify the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula but will also deepen the camp rivalry in the entire Northeast Asian region.” 

Ahead of Kishida’s journey to Seoul, about 5,000 protesters held a candlelight rally in Seoul on Saturday evening, opposing the Japanese prime minister’s go to with out an apology for historic points.

They additionally referred to as on Japan to desert the tritium-laced water discharge plan, urging the South Korean authorities to cease its diplomacy obedient to Japan and the United States.

(With enter from Xinhua)

(Cover: Protesters from South Korean rally to protest Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s go to to South Korea in Seoul, South Korea, May 7, 2023. /CMG)

Source: CGTN