Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• The issue of comfort women

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I was wondering if I could confirm with you your response to the question from Mr. Yoshiki Yamashita of the Japanese Communist Party at today’s meeting of the Committee on Cabinet of the House of Councillors. I understand the Japanese Government believes that the honor and trust of Japan was undermined because of the statement Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono made at a press conference held at the time the Kono Statement was issued. When questioned about whether Japan had recognized the fact that “comfort women” had been forcefully taken away, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono stated, “we accept that to be the case.” Is my understanding correct?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I would like to explain this in some detail in order to avoid misunderstanding. First of all, at the House of Representatives Budget Committee hearing held in February of this year, former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobuo Ishihara, the person with the greatest responsibility at the working level at the time of drafting the Kono Statement, testified as a witness with regard to the Statement, which has been discussed for many years. Mr. Ishihara testified to the effect that no post factum corroborating investigation was conducted on the result of the hearings of former comfort women, that there is a possibility that in the drafting process of the Kono Statement the language was compared and coordinated with the Republic of Korea (ROK) side, and that as a result of announcing the Kono Statement, problems of the past between Japan and the ROK were once settled, but have recently been brought up again and it is extremely regrettable. Following the testimony, the drafting process of the Kono Statement was studied. As a result of the study, it has come to light that amid the poor state of the Japan-ROK relationship at the time, the Governments of Japan and the ROK coordinated on the Kono Statement to put a full stop to this issue and build a future-oriented bilateral relationship. Furthermore, the study has showed that the Japanese Government, under the recognition that the so-called “forcefully taking away” of women could not be confirmed, compared and coordinated the language of the Kono Statement with the ROK Government within the limits of not distorting the facts. In addition, the study illuminated that the Japanese Government conducted the hearings of former comfort women at the request of the ROK Government, to stand by with the former comfort women to understand their feelings, even after the clarification of the facts. Therefore, the original draft of the Kono Statement had already been prepared prior to the completion of the hearings. Also, the report revealed that the ROK President at the time appreciated the final draft of the Kono Statement and communicated that the ROK Government accepted the wording of the draft. As the Kono Statement was drafted in this way, the Government of Japan has announced that it would not be revising the statement. Despite this background, problems of the past have been brought up again since a few years ago. This is what is written in the report. On the other hand, an awareness began to spread across the international community, including the ROK Government, as if women had been forcefully taken away. This was because at a press conference held by Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono at the time of releasing his statement, when questioned about whether women had been forcefully taken away, the Chief Cabinet Secretary stated that “we accept that to be the case.” There was also the testimony by Mr. Seiji Yoshida, which The Asahi Shimbun reported at the time. Accordingly, the Government is making every effort to establish a correct recognition of history based on objective facts, and to restore the honor and trust of Japan.

REPORTER: Regarding this matter, during today’s meeting, you brought up Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono’s response to a reporter’s question at his press conference at the time. You responded, “We deny (Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono’s response). The Government is working hard to restore the honor and trust of Japan.” Are you saying that Japan’s honor and trust were undermined because of both Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono’s response to a reporter’s question at the time, and The Asahi Shimbun’s articles on the testimony of Mr. Seiji Yoshida that were recently retracted?
 
CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Those two are not the only factors. It is the overall situation. We approved a Cabinet decision which states that there exists no document confirming that women were forcefully taken away at the time. Nevertheless, people talk about the matter as if women were forcefully taken away. This is because Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono stated during his press conference at the time that “we accept that to be the case.” Also, prior to this, The Asahi Shimbun reported the testimony of Mr. Seiji Yoshida, which suggested that women were forcefully taken away, triggering criticisms from the international community, including the ROK. In response, we believe it is the role of the Government to work to restore the honor and trust of the Japanese people based on facts.  

REPORTER: I have a question regarding the dispatch of Japanese officials to Pyongyang over the abduction issue. According to some reports, Japan approached North Korea about dispatching officials from October 27. Can you please tell us the current status of the arrangements?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I am aware of the reports. However, no details have been decided yet. As I also stated yesterday, the Japanese delegation will be dispatched in due course. It is important to make clear Japan’s position to the North Korean official responsible, which is that the abduction issue is an absolute priority. It is with this in mind that the delegation will be dispatched.

REPORTER: I have a related question. The Prime Minister announced the dispatch of the delegation. But in going ahead with the dispatch, will Japan be explaining the significance of the dispatch and other related matters to the United States and the ROK, which are countries with whom Japan coordinates when addressing the North Korean issues?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan will obviously be coordinating with the two countries in dispatching the delegation.