Celeste Arrington, author of the forthcoming Study of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute Accidental Activists: Victim Movements and Government Accountability in Japan and South Korea (Cornell University Press, 2016), wrote an op-ed in the January 13, 2016 Washington Post about the agreement between Japan and South Korea surrounding redress over the “comfort women” issue. Arrington, the Korea Foundation Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University, argued that the agreement will not be sufficient. “The survivors and their backers have spent decades creating a powerful movement for redress — and the latest deal falls far short of their goals,” she wrote.
Based on extensive fieldwork in Japan and South Korea, Arrington’s book Accidental Activists highlights how citizens in Northeast Asia are working to hold their own governments accountable for more recent harms. Accidental Activists also reveals the growing power of litigation to promote policy change and greater accountability from decision makers.
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