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Japan regrets new Korean 'comfort women' statue set up in Berlin

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Kyodo News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/01/12/20180112-comfort-women-memorare-rtr-1.jpg"/><figcaption>A vendor pushes a cart past a memorial statue that commemorates the Filipino &quot;comfort women&quot; who worked in Japanese military brothels during World War II, erected along a main street of Roxas Boulevard in this photo taken Jan. 12, 2018. A message reads &quot;This monument is in honor of Filipino women who were victims of abuse during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines (1942-1945).&quot; The statue was removed later. Romeo Ranoco, Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>TOKYO - Japan regrets the recent installation in Berlin of a statue of a girl symbolizing Korean women who were forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, its top government spokesman said Tuesday.Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference that the statue unveiled on Monday in the German capital is not in line with Japan&#x27;s &quot;stance,&quot; in an apparent reference to Tokyo&#x27;s desire to build future-oriented ties with Seoul.A civic group in Germany with South Korean ties played a key role in the statue&#x27;s installation, according to the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, which helped the project financially.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/26/19/new-comfort-women-memorial-unveiled-in-manila">New &#x27;comfort women&#x27; memorial unveiled in Manila</a></li></ul>&quot;We will approach various parties involved toward the removal of the statue,&quot; Kato said, adding that the government will also seek to gain understanding of its position from the international community.Issues stemming from Japan&#x27;s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula have frequently been a source of bilateral tensions. Many in South Korea believe that Japan has not repented enough for its militarist past, including over the so-called comfort women issue.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/27/20/statues-of-girl-kneeling-man-stir-debate-in-s-korea">Statues of girl, kneeling man stir debate in S. Korea</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/14/18/skorea-marks-first-comfort-women-day-joined-by-protestors-in-taiwan">S.Korea marks first &#x27;comfort women&#x27; day, joined by protestors in Taiwan</a></li></ul>It is the third such statue erected in Germany. While the first two were installed on private land, the latest one was placed along a street in the capital with permission from authorities.Many similar statues of a life-size seated girl have been installed in South Korea, including in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. Other overseas locations include the United States.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/08/15/19/filipino-women-urge-japans-apology-for-wartime-sexual-abuse">Filipino women urge Japan&#x27;s apology for wartime sexual abuse</a></li></ul><div>==Kyodo</div>

Japan regrets the recent installation in Berlin of a statue of a girl symbolizing Korean women who were forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, its top government spokesman said Tuesday.

Japan regrets the recent installation in Berlin of a statue of a girl symbolizing Korean women who were forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, its top government spokesman said Tuesday.