New Zealand officials reject statue remembering Japan’s WWII sex slaves

New Zealand officials reject statue remembering Japan’s WWII sex slaves

From Asia - South China Morning Post

April 29, 2026

About this episode

New Zealand officials rejected a proposal for a statue commemorating WWII sex slaves due to concerns over diplomatic relations with Japan.

New Zealand officials rejected on Wednesday an application to install a statue commemorating so-called “comfort women” enslaved by Japan before and during World War II after Tokyo suggested it could harm diplomatic relations. Japan forced up to 200,000 women from Korea, China and Southeast Asia into sexual slavery from 1932 until 1945 and the issue remains a sore point in Tokyo’s relations with its neighbours. The Korean Garden Trust had sought to install a statue honouring the survivors at...

Topics covered

  • comfort women
  • World War II
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • diplomatic relations
  • statue memorial

Keywords

  • comfort women
  • statue
  • New Zealand
  • Japan
  • World War II
  • diplomatic relations
  • Korean Garden Trust

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New Zealand, Japan, Korean Garden Trust

Places: Korea, China, Southeast Asia

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