[Yonhap News Photo]
Japan scored a shaky victory in a diplomatic battle with South Korea after UNESCO's "Memory of the World" program failed to list documents related to women sexually enslaved by Japan's imperial army during World War II.
UNESCO's program is aimed at safeguarding the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction.
In May 2016, civic groups from eight countries including South Korea and China, and London's Imperial War Museum made a joint push for the UNESCO listing of "Voices of the 'Comfort Women'", based on 2,744 documents that included testimonies from comfort women.
In response, Japan made a separate solo bid with "Documentation on 'Comfort Women' and Japanese Army discipline", based on its own documents on the operation of wartime brothels.
In a post published on its website, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said its International Advisory Committee (IAC) recommended to Director-General Irina Bokova that UNESCO "facilitates a dialogue" among the parties concerned.
"The IAC also recommends setting a place and time convenient to the parties for this dialogue, with a view to leading to a joint nomination to encompass as far as possible all relevant documents."
The South's foreign ministry expressed "regret" at UNESCO's decision and promised to step up diplomatic efforts so that the campaign by civic groups can bear fruit. "The government is opposed to any words and actions running counter to the historical truth," spokesman Noh Kyu-duk told reporters.
UNESCO's decision came at the height of a diplomatic dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over their 2015 deal under which Japan agreed to donate one billion yen ($9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting comfort women.
Tokyo has urged Seoul to tear down the "comfort woman" statues erected by civic groups outside Japanese legations. President Moon Jae-in has hinted at a possible renegotiation of the deal, saying many Koreans do not endorse it.
Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women mostly from Korea were forced to work in front-line brothels for Japanese troops. Many South Koreans still harbor deep resentment against Japan over its colonial rule, and they want Tokyo's sincere apology.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
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