Court orders Japan to compensate South Korean wartime sex slaves

A South Korean court has ordered Japan to financially compensate 12 South Korean women forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese troops during the Second World War.

Japan immediately protested against the landmark ruling, maintaining that all wartime compensation issues were resolved under a 1965 treaty that restored their diplomatic ties.

Seoul Central District Court ruled the Japanese government must give 100 million won( about £ 67,450) each to the 12 ageing women who filed the lawsuits in 2013 for their wartime sexual slavery.

The court said Japan's mobilisation of these women as sexual slaves was "a crime against humanity".

It said it happened when Japan "illegally occupied" the Korean Peninsula from 191045, and its sovereign immunity can not shield it from lawsuit sin South Korea.

The court said the women were the victims of "harsh sexual activities" by Japanese soldiers who caused them bodily harm, venereal diseases and unwanted pregnancies and left "big mental scars" in the women's lives.

The proceedings in the case had been delayed as Japan refused to receive legal documents.

Seven of the 12 women died while waiting for the ruling.

Another 20 women, some already deceased and represented by their surviving relatives, filed a separate suit against Japan, and their ruling is expected next week.

The women were among tens of thousands across occupied Asia and the Pacific who were sent to frontline Japanese military brothels.

About 240 South Korean women came forward and registered with the government as victims of sexual slavery, but only 16 of them, all in their 80s and 90s, are still alive.

Observers say it is unlikely Japan will abide by the South Korean court ruling.

A support group for women forced to work as sex slaves said it may take legal steps to seize Japanese government assets in South Korea if Japan refuses to compensate victims.

Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement that vice- foreign minister TakeoAkiba had summoned south korean ambassador Na mG wan-p yo to register Tokyo's protest over the ruling.

Chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato also called the ruling "extremely regrettable", saying "the Japanese government cannot accept this by any means".

South Korea's foreign ministry said it respects the ruling and will strive to restore the dignity of the women. It said it will examine the verdict's possible effects on ties with Japan and make efforts to maintain cooperation with Tokyo.

Seoul and Tokyo, both key US allies, are closely linked to each other economically and culturally.

But their historical and territorial disputes stemming from Japan's colonial occupation have often complicated Washington'seffortstostrengthentrilateral co- operationtodealwith North Korea's nuclear threat and China's growing influence in the region.

Their relations plunged to one of their lowest levels in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese companies to offer reparations to South Korean plaintiffs for their wartime forced labour. The spat led to a trade war.