Japanese beer used to be the leading imported beer in Korea. Its imports dropped to $223,000 in August compared to $7.57 million in the same month last year, according to the following Maeil Business News report.
Korea’s beer import from Japan plunges 95% in August
This is entirely due to Abe and the ultra right wing Nippon Kaigi (Japan Council). They keep telling outright lies and making racist comments about Korea.
For example:
1. Japanese occupation helped modernize Korea. (They built roads and railways to "steal" Korean minerals, food and other goods to Japan. Also factories to utilize "slave" labor).
2. Dokdo Island belongs to Japan and that Korea is illegally occupying it. (Illegal to whom? Certainly not Korean and international law).
3. The agreement signed by Japan and Korea to get financial aid as war repatriation exempts Japanese from all responsibility for crimes committed by Japan on Koreans. Abe even goes as far as to deny them. Legal scholars agree that the agreement only applies to the governments and not individual personal claims to the companies that enslaved the Koreans.
Also, it was a Supreme Court ruling that awarded damages and ordered the assets of a Japanese company be sold, after Abe ordered the company not to pay. The Korean government cannot do anything to override a court decision, yet Abe demands that the government somehow override the Supreme Court.
Internationally, courts have ruled that individual rights overrides government agreements.
The Japan Council is made up of radical right wing members who continually deny war crimes and tell outright racist lies about Korea.
Also a pet peeve. Does paying damages to comfort women or enslaved Korean mean that Japan doesn't need to apologize to the comfort women (it has never officially done so yet)? Does it mean that Koreans cannot mention this or build statues commemorating them? Does it mean that Japan can rewrite the history that it teaches to children to instill hate against Korea and nationalism in Japan?
Feel much better now. Koreans have nothing against Japan. Only Abe and the Japan Council.
It feels that most Koreans are sick of hearing all the racist comments from these people. The ultra right wing try to stereotype Koreans as stupid and not having the willpower for long term fights. It seems that this boycott of Japanese goods is going to last a long long time. Even if Abe changes his ultra right wing foreign minister and policies.
The Korean media is emphasizing the lies made by the Japanese right wing. They should also report on how racist those comments are and how they stereotype Koreans as inferior, criminals and such.
