In the third week of March 2023, South Korean and Japanese leaders will meet in Tokyo with the expectation to resume regular visits which have paused for almost a decade. The meeting is expected to overcome resentment of atrocities committed by the Japanese during their Korean peninsula occupation between 1910-1945. In this article, you can read about this important development in international relations from the IAS exam perspective.
Cause of Korean Resentment Against Japan
- Japan colonized the Korean peninsula between 1910-1945 and imposed Japanese culture on Koreans by forcing changes to Japanese names and language.
- The Japanese also imposed conscription by forcing Koreans into forced labour and forced prostitution in military brothels during the occupation period.
- Korea and Japan also have territorial disputes in a group of islands controlled by South Korea and claimed by Japan.
- In 1965, the Japanese paid reparations amounting to $800 million to South Korea’s military-run government but were not distributed to victims.
- In 1995 the Japanese government apologized and provided a semi-government fund which was opposed by the South Korean public as they wanted direct responsibility by the Japanese government for the occupation.
- Regular visits started in 2004 but bilateral ties became cold in 2012 after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited the disputed islands.
- The tensions were on the rise in the past decade with a conservative government coming to power in Japan which began to rearm the country and took steps to whitewash atrocities committed during the Korean occupation.
Also read: Senkaku-Diaoyu Islands Dispute: RSTV- Big Picture
What is the need for cooperation between Japan and South Korea?
- Both nations are US allies and share the same security concerns about China and North Korea. North Korea has been rapidly expanding nuclear-capable missiles and is issuing threats of a nuclear strike on South Korea.
- The US has worked closely with both governments to bring Japan and South Korea to the negotiation table and it was important to address the challenge in Japan-South Korea relations.
- There is also a need for improving trade cooperation between Japan and South Korea which will relieve pressure from industrial supply chain disruptions in high-end technologies and other global challenges.
- During the summit, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to affirm remorse over atrocities committed during the Japanese occupation.Â
- The summit is also expected to resume regular bilateral visits and thaw in ties between Japan and South Korea.
Way forward:
- In order to achieve sustainable ties experts opine that there is a need for accommodation on history.
- In order to appease the South Korean public there must be some expression of apology and self-reflection by the Japanese government.
- Seoul also made prominent concessions before the summit, planning to use its own fund to pay compensation following the 2018 court order which ordered Japan’s Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to compensate forced labour victims.
- However, the plan met with opposition from surviving victims, opposition politicians and supporters, who demanded direct compensation from the Japanese government but the law allows for third-party reimbursement and the South Korean government is expected to persuade the victims.
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