A professor emeritus at Japan's Waseda University has sparked controversy by arguing that South Korea, now wealthier than Japan, should return property that Japan and Japanese nationals left on the Korean Peninsula at the end of World War II.
Arima Tetsuo, professor emeritus at Waseda University's Faculty of Social Sciences, posted a lengthy message on his social media account on Oct. 14. In it, he said "not mentioning this fact is unfair" and demanded that a new agreement be struck to return so-called vested property to Japan and its nationals. Vested property refers to Japanese-owned assets seized by the U.S. military government after Korea's liberation.
Arima claimed that assets held by Japan and Japanese nationals were handed over to Koreans free of charge by the U.S. military after the war. He described the move as a violation of international law, which he said bars the infringement of property rights on the grounds of war.
He also said Japan was asked to ratify the measure in order to end the occupation and accepted the demand. He added that the San Francisco Peace Treaty guaranteed the assets that Koreans, who had been Japanese nationals, held in Japan.
Arima further said Japan provided economic aid and loans equivalent to South Korea's national budget at the time of the 1965 claims agreement between the two countries, and that he personally hopes the vested property will be returned.
The relevant treaty and agreement read as follows. Article 4(b) of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty stipulated that Japan recognize the validity of the U.S. military government's disposition of property. Article 1 of the Korea-Japan claims agreement, signed on June 22, 1965, called for Japan to provide South Korea with $300 million in grants and $200 million in loans over 10 years.
Article 2(1) confirmed that issues concerning the property and claims of the two countries and their nationals, including those covered by Article 4(a) of the treaty, had been settled "completely and finally." In its Oct. 30, 2018, ruling on compensation for forced labor, the Supreme Court of Korea found that the agreement was intended to resolve property-related claims and debts between the two countries on the basis of Article 4(a).
Arima has drawn criticism for remarks denying facts about Japan's wartime sexual slavery. He published a paper on the issue with Harvard University professor Mark Ramseyer and released a book titled "Comfort Women All Made Consensual Contracts." A Japanese university student group has filed a petition calling for his dismissal.