There can be no alternative but to doubt whether the administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in has any intention of improving relations with Japan. The Moon administration should correct its stance of inflaming confrontation with Japan while pandering to domestic public opinion.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono has conferred with his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, in Davos, Switzerland. Triggered by the lawsuits against Japanese firms filed by former South Korean wartime requisitioned workers, Japan-South Korea relations have worsened to such a level that they are not even able to hold a bilateral summit.
The foreign ministers must play an important role in finding a clue to ameliorate bilateral relations.
Kono emphasized, "Holding a meeting is all the more significant at a time when bilateral relations are severe." Kang said, "It is imperative to manage problems and develop relations." Despite these words, she consistently insisted on making unilateral assertions.
At the outset of the meeting, in the presence of reporters, Kang protested against the recent incident in which she said "a Japanese patrol plane made a low-altitude flight" over a South Korean warship, saying "the incident was regrettable." Kono rebutted the allegation, saying that the Japanese aircraft in question "did not fly in close proximity."
Shortly before Kang's meeting with Kono, the South Korean military announced that a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol plane had made a "threatening flight" over a South Korean naval ship in the East China Sea.
It is extremely problematic that she went out of her way to bring up a new contentious issue as a way to appeal to the South Korean people at the meeting with Kono, which was supposed to be held to move toward mutual concessions. This may further deepen the rift between the two countries.
Don't evade responsibility
The issue over the South Korean destroyer's alleged use of fire-control radar on MSDF surveillance aircraft has reached a deadlock, too. Because the South Korean side did not comply with Japanese requests to recognize what actually happened based on objective data, the Defense Ministry has announced its decision to discontinue working-level talks with its South Korean counterpart.
In view of the position taken by South Korea on this occasion, it is impossible to expect an easy way out of the current gridlock. It is advisable for the Self-Defense Forces and the South Korean military, whose areas of activity overlap, to ensure a forum for consultative talks and work toward confidence-building.
Bilateral negotiations are also indispensable for resolving the issue over wartime labor.
In the latest meeting with Kang, Kono called for holding a bilateral meeting on the matter as soon as possible. Seoul should comply with the request sincerely.
The 1965 Agreement on the Settlement of Problems Concerning Property and Claims and on Economic Cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea, which states the issue over claims "is settled completely and finally," stipulates that any dispute concerning matters such as the interpretation of the agreement shall be settled through diplomatic channels.
In the meeting, Kang called for the two countries "to work on preventing the matter from hampering the bilateral relationship." The seizure of Japanese firms' property based on South Korean judicial procedures is under way. Preventing Japanese firms from suffering any disadvantage in the aftermath of court rulings is the responsibility of the South Korean government. Seoul's stance of pressing the responsibility onto Japan cannot be accepted.
Tokyo and Seoul are supposed to cooperate in dealing with the issue of North Korea's nuclear and missile development.
Seoul should not make light of its cooperation with Tokyo and Washington while becoming preoccupied with promoting cooperation with the North.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 25, 2019)
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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