Japan’s Reconciliation in the Issue of Comfort Women with the Netherlands and South Korea: Pragmatic and Reflective Reconciliation

Reconciliation among states tends to be pragmatic, based on cost/benefit national interest calculation. But it can be reflective, involving the perpetrator’s responsibility and remorse and the victims’ forgiveness, thus enhancing their mutual confidence. Japan’s moral compensation for the former Dutch and South Korean comfort women was pragmatic, based on the post-war legal agreements, but its scheme with atonement projects for each survivor had reflective elements. The Netherlands mostly accepted and South Korea mostly rejected Japan’s moral compensation for their distinctive historical and political reasons. However, Japan’s occasional excuse-like denial of coercive recruitment of comfort women based on the absence of public documents significantly reduced their confidence in Japan. This shows that the vindication of the victims’ dignity, anchored with the perpetrator’s consistent acknowledgement of its offense, is at the core of reconciliation. Reflective reconciliation is difficult to achieve but pragmatic reconciliation leaves room for dialogue among all parties concerned toward genuine understanding of the victims and thus to the restoration of their dignity.