Meeting German Chancellor, Japanese PM Wants Statue Of 'Comfort Woman' In Berlin To Be Moved

Statue of a comfort woman in Berlin, Germany. (Wikimedia Commons/OTFW)

JAKARTA - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has asked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for help regarding the removal of a Berlin statue representing Korean "comfort women" in a Japanese wartime military brothel, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

The request was made when PM Kishida and Chancellor Scholz met in Tokyo in late April, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, expressing the government's disappointment over the statue's continued existence after it was erected by a pro-Korea civic group in 2020.

Relations between Japan and South Korea have been strained over issues stemming from Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula, such as Korean women being forced to work in wartime brothels for Japanese troops.

The statue in the Mitte District, central Berlin, was erected in September 2020 after local authorities approved its installation for one year. The approval was then extended for another year.

Statue of a comfort woman in Berlin, Germany. (Wikimedia Commons/OTFW)

"The prime minister said it was very regrettable to see the statue of the comfort woman remains, asking for more cooperation from the German side," Matsuno said at a press conference without elaborating, as reported by Kyodo News on May 11.

"We will approach various related parties, firmly explain the position of our government and call for the statue to be removed immediately," he said.

Chancellor Scholz chose Japan as his first Asian country to visit since becoming chancellor in December and met Prime Minister Kishida on April 28, to deepen security ties and the crisis in Ukraine.