A Japanese international law scholar has criticized the absence of anti-discrimination laws and independent human rights organizations in Japan, stating that there are no means for 'comfort women' victims to seek redress.
During a symposium titled 'International Norm Formation on the Issue of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery and Civil Society's Response Strategies' held on October 8 at the Seoul Global Center, Abe Goki, a professor at Meiji Gakuin University, said, "Japan's human rights protection system must change, as there are no anti-discrimination laws, no independent domestic human rights organizations, and no access to international human rights redress mechanisms." The symposium was organized by Jeonguiyeon to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Radika Kumara Swami's report on 'comfort women.'
Abe noted that since the late Kim Hak-sun first publicly testified about her experiences in December 1991, there have been ten lawsuits filed by surviving victims against the Japanese government, all of which have been dismissed at various levels of the Japanese court system, from lower courts to the Supreme Court.
Japan accepted a recommendation to establish a national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles during its first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of human rights in 2008, but has yet to do so. A human rights relief bill proposed in 2011 has not been reintroduced in the National Diet, and over ten recommendations for comprehensive anti-discrimination laws from the 2017 UPR have not led to any legislative action.
Abe pointed out that the law in Japan has become a barrier to justice for surviving victims. He urged, "Japan should enact domestic laws that comprehensively prohibit racial and gender discrimination based on international human rights law and establish an independent domestic human rights institution to monitor the implementation of these laws."
Radika Kumara Swami, a former UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women from Sri Lanka, visited Korea and Japan in 1995 to investigate victims. Her report was submitted to the UN Human Rights Commission in January 1996 and adopted in April of the same year. The report classified the comfort station system as military sexual slavery and recommended that the Japanese government issue a formal apology, acknowledge legal responsibility for violations of international law, and compensate each victim individually.
In South Korea, the Seoul High Court ruled in November 2023 against Japan's state immunity, siding with the victims, and the ruling was finalized as Japan did not appeal. The Japanese government has maintained that sovereign states are immune from the jurisdiction of other countries' courts, thus refusing to pay compensation.
There are currently 240 registered 'comfort women' victims in South Korea. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family reported in March that with the passing of one victim, the number of survivors has decreased to five, with an average age of 95.8 years.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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