Japan protests New Zealand ‘comfort women’ statue, warns of diplomatic fallout

The Japanese embassy has issued a warning that diplomatic relations between Japan and New Zealand could be strained over “comfort women” statue, which is expected to be erected in an Auckland garden.

The bronze statue symbolizes the thousands of women Japan forces into sexual slavery before and during WWII. Given by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, the statue depicts a seated girl next to an empty chair to commemorate survivors of wartime sexual violence.

In the case of approval by the local authorities at a meeting on April 28, the statue will be placed in the Korean cultural garden at Barry’s Point reserve in Auckland.

Japanese Ambassador Makoto Osawa cautioned the Auckland Council that "stirring up interest" in this issue could damage Japan’s relations with both South Korea and New Zealand.

According to Osawa, if the New Zealand government approved the funding for installation infrastructure, the act would be interpreted as official state endorsement.

A spokesperson from the Japanese embassy also suggested that the installation could cause schism and conflict within Korean and Japanese communities, ultimately leading to diplomatic fallout ultimately.

Between 1932 and 1945, an estimated 200,000 women were coerced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese military. While the majority were Korean, victims also included women from China, Southeast Asia, Japan, and Europe. They were referred to by the euphemism "comfort women.”

The historical trauma of the “comfort women” remains a source of friction between South Korea and Japan. The first “peace statue” was erected in Seoul in 2011 to honor the women victims, sparking global movements across the world.

In 2018, Osaka severed relations with San Francisco after the city approved the installation of a similar statue as public property.

In 2022, Tokyo protested over the installation of a statue in the South Korean botanical garden, calling it an unpardonable breach of international protocol.

Later, the controversy extended to Europe in 2025, when a similar statue was removed from Berlin.