The "comfort women" case has been a polemic issue in the context of inherited responsibility that responsibility for historical injustices committed by previous generations can be, and is, inherited to the next generation. The Japanese government, whi...
The "comfort women" case has been a polemic issue in the context of inherited responsibility that responsibility for historical injustices committed by previous generations can be, and is, inherited to the next generation. The Japanese government, which played the role of the agent responsible for wartime atrocities, tends to either deny the rationale for any collective responsibility or limit the extent of such responsibility in terms of recompense and non-financial measures. In contrast, South Korea, which has demanded from Japan an official apology and the acknowledgement of historical wrongdoings, has been dependent on the argument that nations should be held accountable for historical injustices committed by their previous generations. However, the disadvantage of this claim is that an excessive focus on nationalism might humiliate the victims and hinder a thick reconciliation with Japan.
Based on these observations, this study presents civic responsibility with reciprocal nondomination as a viable solution for the "comfort women" issue in South Korea. Specifically, this study carries out the following two tasks: First, by applying the predominant theories of inherited responsibility to the comfort women case, this study shows that these theories are insufficient in terms of the "agent" taking inherited responsibility and the "scope" of its recompense. Second, by elaborating reciprocal non-domination as a regulative principle through which all citizens can acknowledge the need for preventing similar injustices in the future, this study argues that civic responsibility would be more applicable to the comfort women case, particularly in the context of inherited responsibility.
Even if we acknowledge the crucial role of political leaders in actualizing historical reconciliation, it is more important to realize that civic responsibility can be used to persuade fellow citizens to participate actively in assuming inherited responsibility. In other words, responsible citizens of perpetrating countries should call upon their Reconsidering the Comfort Women Case governments to apologize to victims and compensate them; meanwhile, the citizens of victimized countries should not only consider the fate of the victims but also contemplate whether there have been similar injustices committed in their own land. If it is civic responsibility that encourages citizens to participate voluntarily in a deliberation stance to resolve historical injustices, it is reciprocal non-domination that is conducive to regulate differences in opinion and power status between the victimized and perpetrating parties. Moreover, deliberation coordinated by reciprocal non-domination
would become a future-oriented, conflict-regulating mechanism through which present conflicts could be resolved and citizens
not directly related to these conflicts could join the deliberation process willingly to prevent history from repeating itself. Through an understanding of the other side’s point of view as well as the assumption that we could find ourselves in the position of either the victim or the wrongdoer, we can create a salutary covenant for the future. We believe that civic responsibility with reciprocal non-domination would mend not only the distorted relationship between victims and wrongdoers but also humanity itself.