It's designed to be a symbol of peace but is dividing communities; a monument to the "comfort women" of World War Two, the women and girls as young as 12 forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army.
The statue is to be unveiled on Saturday in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield.
A spokesman for the Peace Statue Establishing Committee, Si Hyun Paik, says the statue is intended to remember the ordeal of the comfort women.
"We want to let people know that this sort of hideous crime will never and cannot be repeated in any community in any part of the world."
Not everyone sees it that way, with the Australia-Japan Community Network threatening legal action.
President of the Australia-Japan Community Network, Tesshu Yamaoka says the statue will lead to discrimination against the Japanese community in Australia.
"These statues are actually created out of hatred and anger towards Japan and Japanese people. It does negatively affect the life of the local Japanese communities, the people."
Just a year ago, plans for a similar statue in a nearby suburb were scrapped following community outrage.
This monument is only being allowed because it is on the Ashfield Uniting Church's grounds, rather than a public site.
But it was a hard fight, with the Australia-Japan Community Network lobbying the New South Wales government to prevent the statue from being erected.
Reverend Bill Crews, from the Ashfield Uniting Church, says he believes the statue has historical significance.
"The fact that those women suffered and they've been suffering all their lives and now the indignity of having no statue where people can come and look at and focus on the suffering that those women went through. I think it's an attempt to re-write history and pretend nothing happened and everyone should look at that statute and say, 'Never again'."
The state's Minister for Multicultural Affairs, John Ajaka, held a private meeting between Reverend Crews and Japan's Consul General.
He says he wants a peaceful resolution to the issue.
"Come together, and attempt to resolve the issue in an amicable, harmonious way. That is what's best for both communities, and that is what's best for New South Wales."
Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a landmark apology to South Korean comfort women, setting up a fund to compensate victims.
Japan's consul general declined SBS's interview request.
