US top diplomat hails South Korea move to compensate Japan war victims

US top diplomat Antony Blinken on Sunday applauded plans announced by South Korea to compensate victims of Japan’s forced wartime labor, as Seoul looks to forge closer ties with Tokyo.

South Korea and Japan are “two of the United States’ most important allies, and we are inspired by the work they have done to advance their bilateral relations,” the Secretary of State said in a statement.

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Tokyo on Monday welcomed a South Korean plan to compensate victims of Japan’s forced wartime labor, saying it would help to restore “healthy” ties after years of tensions.

“The Japanese government values the measures announced by the South Korean government today as an effort to restore healthy Japan-South Korea ties after they were put in a very severe situation due to the 2018 judgement,” Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

In 2018, Seoul’s Supreme Court ordered some Japanese companies to pay compensation over forced labor, but South Korea now says it hopes for “voluntary contributions” from Japanese firms.

Around 780,000 Koreans were conscripted into forced labor by Japan during the 35-year occupation, according to data from Seoul, not including women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops.

The plan announced by Seoul earlier Monday would see a South Korean foundation compensate victims and their families, primarily with funds from South Korean firms that benefitted from Japan’s 1965 reparations package.

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