Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Japan & South Korea Reach Historic Deal

Seen here in the above photo is South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se shaking hands with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul this week as the two countries reach an historic agreement to resolve decades of animosity and distrust over the treatment of Korean "Comfort Women" during the war who were forced to work in brothels as sex slaves. The break in the decades long impasse represents a new willingness on the part of the Abe Government to compromise in order to settle these longstanding differences. PM Abe is said to have “expressed anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women.” If that's not a sincere apology, I don't know what is. What this deal entails is one billion Japanese Yen that will go to help what few surviving Korean victims who would now be in their late 80's and 90's. For Japan's part, PM Abe called South Korean President Park Geun-hye and reiterated his apology. He said Tokyo would implement the deal and called the issue settled irreversibly. Park said she hoped the two countries will build mutual trust and open a new era in ties based on the agreement. The final caveat of this deal was an agreement to stop future demands for Tokyo to apologize as they have been doing for generations. Both nations are staunch U.S. Allies. We wish both countries a new peaceful era of mutual trust and friendship as they will need it as they both live under the threats of a nuclear armed North Korea and an ever encroaching Chinese Navy who lately seems to be on everyone's grievance list.

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