Image of a girl in front of the Consulate General of Busan, South Korea.
Last week, a local municipality gave permission to install a statue of a girl who symbolized the comfort women issue, which was set up by a Korean citizen group in front of the Japanese Consulate General in southern Busan (Busan) without permission. I understand. The Consulate General of Japan has requested that the permission be revoked, but since it has been refused, it is feared that the girl image will be fixed instead of being removed.
In Busan, South Korea, in December 2016, a civic group installed an image of a girl who symbolized the comfort women issue without permission in front of the Japanese Consulate General. It is against the Japan-Korea agreement over the country and the international treaty that stipulates the responsibility to protect foreign diplomatic missions.
Against this backdrop, Higashi Ward, Pusan City, which manages the public roads where the statue of a girl has been installed, issued a permit for occupying the road, which was approved by a civic group, to permit the installation of the statue of a girl on the 4th of this month. I made it clear to the NHK interview.
Japanese Consul General Maruyama, who is stationed in Busan, protested against the ward on 6th and demanded that his permit be revoked, but the ward side refused, saying that it was "approved by due process".
Civic groups held a protest rally around the statue of the girl on the 11th, and opposed the Japanese side's response, saying that it was "interference with domestic affairs", and the Korean media reported that "legalization was completed". There is concern that the image of the girl in front of the Consulate General will be fixed and not removed.