Former Japan Lower House Speaker Yohei Kono Dies at 89, Remembered for 1993 Comfort Women Apology
Updated
Updated · The Japan Times · Jun 11
Former Japan Lower House Speaker Yohei Kono Dies at 89, Remembered for 1993 Comfort Women Apology
3 articles · Updated · The Japan Times · Jun 11
Summary
Yohei Kono, a former speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives, died Monday at 89, people close to him said Wednesday.
Kono was best known for a 1993 statement as chief Cabinet secretary that offered Japan’s “sincere apologies and remorse” over the military’s wartime “comfort women” system.
A Kanagawa native and leading dove in the Liberal Democratic Party, he also served as foreign minister and as LDP president when the party was in opposition.
His 1993 apology helped shape Japan’s postwar diplomacy with South Korea and other neighbors, though conservatives later argued it fueled further wartime compensation demands.