Sept. 30 (UPI) — The Japanese authorities vowed to eliminate a newly erected “consolation lady” statue in Berlin, a day after activists in Germany held an inauguration ceremony for the image of Japanese wartime exploitation of younger ladies from the Korean Peninsula.
Japanese Chief Cupboard Secretary Katsunobu Kato stated at a press briefing on Tuesday that Tokyo “extraordinarily regrets” the choice of Germany-based civic group Korea Verband to put the statue within the German capital in a public house, Kyodo Information and KBS reported.
“We’re conscious of the statue’s unveiling in Berlin, Germany,” Kato stated, in accordance with the Nikkei. “It is a very regrettable motion. The [Japanese] authorities will method varied events concerned as a way to take away the statue.
“We now have defined the federal government’s place on the consolation ladies problem, and responses to the problem, in varied types earlier than the worldwide neighborhood. We are going to proceed to make such efforts to obtain a good analysis from the worldwide neighborhood,” Kato stated.
Different consolation lady statues have been put in in Germany however the Berlin statue is the primary to be positioned in a public space, lower than two miles from the Japanese Embassy. Different statues have been erected on the Nepal Himalaya Pavilion in Wiesent and a Korean church in Frankfurt, in accordance with South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun on Tuesday.
Han Jung-hwa, head of Korea Verband in Germany, advised KBS she anticipates the statue to boost public consciousness of previous crimes towards humanity.
“I hope this helps dad and mom communicate to their youngsters, and lecturers with their college students, about this problem, in order that such incidents don’t occur once more,” Han stated.
German activists who spoke to KBS stated they’re “pleased” in regards to the new statue, which was put in on Friday. The statue is a “image of the long run and represents the need to reside peacefully on this world,” one Berlin resident stated.
