The government of North Korea is
demanding reparations and an apology from Japanese leaders for the
colonial occupation of Korea in the early 1900s. The Japanese
government recently issued an apology to South Korea for the
colonizing of the Korean Peninsula, but made no such effort to
reconcile with the government of the Democratic People’s Republic.
“Japan
should make a sincere apology and make full reparation to the Korean
nation for its aggression and crimes against humanity,” said a
representative of the North Korean Central News Agency. (CNN,
Aug. 22)
Japan
occupied Korea from 1910 until 1945, during which time around 200,000
Korean and Chinese women were turned into sexual slaves for members
of the Japanese army. The prime minister of Japan expressed his
“deep regret” for the suffering inflicted during that time
period.
An
apology is not enough for the crimes against the Korean people. If
the Japanese government was sincere in its apology, it would issue
reparations for crimes in the past and those still being comitted
today.
