Waseda Professor Sparks Outrage by Claiming "South Korea Is Richer Than Japan, So Return Japanese Property"

A professor emeritus at Waseda University in Japan, who previously drew criticism for denying the forced mobilization of comfort women by the Japanese military, is now facing controversy for claiming that "South Korea has become richer than Japan, so it should return Japanese property from the Japanese colonial period."

On October 13, Arima Teppo, professor emeritus at Waseda University's Faculty of Social Sciences, wrote on his social media, "Following the end of the war, assets owned by Japan and Japanese nationals were handed over free of charge to local Koreans by the U.S. military." He added, "This violates international law, which dictates that property ownership must not be infringed upon due to war."

Mentioning the Treaty of San Francisco and the 1965 South Korea-Japan Claims Agreement, he argued, "Personally, given that South Korea has become wealthier than Japan, I hope a new agreement will be made to return the assets that Japan and Japanese nationals owned at the end of the war, namely vested property."

Amid the growing controversy, Arima posted a follow-up message to continue his claims.

He stated, "I am proposing a new agreement precisely because I am aware of the contents of past South Korea-Japan agreements," and claimed, "From the beginning, the U.S. military's disposal of Japanese property on the Korean Peninsula without the owners' consent constitutes a violation of international law."

He further added, "Despite agreements, the South Korean side continues to demand compensation from Japan for comfort women and forced laborers. Therefore, I believe it is only fair that there should be Japanese individuals demanding the return of property that was unjustly taken from them."

This argument places claims for damages by victims of forced mobilization under Japanese colonial rule on the same footing as the U.S. military government's confiscation of Japanese property, using it as a basis to demand returns.

However, such assertions directly contradict the explicit provisions of the 1965 South Korea-Japan Claims Agreement.

The agreement stipulates that "the problems concerning property, rights and interests of the two Contracting Parties and their peoples and concerning claims have been settled completely and finally."

The Japanese government has also maintained the official stance that claims for damages by victims of forced mobilization and comfort women "were completely and finally resolved through the 1965 Claims Agreement."

Netizens who came across Arima's post responded with comments such as, "This is an absurd claim that ignores the history of colonial rule," and "Go back and study history."

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Hong Jin-young | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.