In the face of North Korea’s rapidly expanding nuclear and missile programs, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yue will pay an official visit to Japan in an attempt to open up a feud dating back to Japan’s colonization of the Korean peninsula and build a “future-oriented relationship” with Tokyo.
Yoon is due to start a two-day visit on Thursday, March 16, the first such visit by a South Korean leader to Japan in 12 years.
The move comes days after Yoon’s government backed down to Japan over a South Korean court ruling ordering two Japanese companies to pay compensation to 15 employees forced to work at their factories during World War II.
All eyes will be on any reciprocal measures that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may take, while Yoon Suk-yue’s government has proposed that payments be made by a South Korean state-backed fund rather than a Japanese company, its concessions immediately triggering the three surviving victims and their Protests by supporters and the country’s opposition.
As Yoon kicks off her visit, here’s what you need to know about the dispute between South Korea and Japan and Seoul’s efforts to mend ties.
What are the historical grievances?
Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have been strained since South Korea’s ruling on forced labor in 2018.
The Japanese government rejected the South Korean Supreme Court order, arguing that all claims related to the colonial era from 1910 to 1945 were settled under a 1965 treaty that normalized relations between the two countries. Thousands of Koreans were conscripted into military brothels for forced labor and prostitution. Under the agreement, Japan provided $800 million in grants and loans to the then South Korean military-backed government, stating that any issues involving the property, rights, and interests of the two countries and their peoples were deemed to be “thoroughly and peacefully resolved.” final solution”.
But the deal sparked nationwide protests in South Korea, which demonstrators saw as a disgrace.
Discontent continued to swell. In the early 1990s, South Korean victims of forced labor began seeking compensation in court, while survivors of military prostitutes, known as “comfort women,” spoke out about their experiences of abuse.
Japan has apologized for its “colonial aggression” amid renewed public outcry in South Korea. Former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said in 1998 that he “humbly accepted the historical fact that Japanese colonial rule had caused unbearable harm and pain to the Korean people, and expressed remorse and sincere apology for the torture suffered”.
Japan also set up a fund in 2015 to compensate the women.
But many South Koreans see Japan’s repentance as insincere, especially when ultranationalist former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, and his allies tried to whitewash Japan’s colonial atrocities, even suggesting that there was no evidence Japanese authorities forced South Korean women into sex slavery.
Tensions peaked in 2018 following a Supreme Court ruling on forced labor and then-President Moon Jae-in’s decision to dissolve the “comfort women” fund.
In apparent retaliation, Japan imposed export controls on chemicals critical to South Korea’s semiconductor industry.
South Korea, on the other hand, lowered Japan’s trade status and even threatened to terminate an intelligence-sharing agreement with Tokyo, only to back down under pressure from the United States.
What is South Korea’s solution?
The hope of breaking the ice came when conservative Yoon Suk-yue narrowly won the 2022 general election.
Since taking office, Yoon has doggedly sought to mend relations with Japan, recently referring to Tokyo as a “partner with whom we share universal values”. He also said that trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States “has become more important than ever in overcoming the serious nuclear threat posed by North Korea.”
Pyongyang has rejected U.S. efforts to revive stalled denuclearization talks, has tested a record number of ballistic missiles in 2022 and is reportedly preparing for a seventh nuclear test. North Korea has been conducting banned missile tests, and just hours before the Yoon and Kishida summit, South Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, its third show of strength this week.
Yoon’s administration, declaring the need to cooperate with Japan on the North Korea issue, began consultations with victims of forced labor shortly after taking office. Earlier this month, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin unveiled a plan to provide compensation to victims and their families through a state-backed foundation, with the money likely to come from domestic companies that benefited from the 1965 normalization agreement, such as Nu Skin Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The plan does not require Japanese companies involved in forced labor disputes to contribute.
Choi Eun-mi, a researcher at the Asan Policy Research Institute in South Korea, said the solution “is not perfect, but it is a realistic solution considering the realization of the plaintiff’s legal rights.”
“This can be seen as opening the door to improve bilateral relations,” she told Al Jazeera.
Yoon Seok-yue said the proposal stemmed from the government’s efforts to “respect the victim’s position while also seeking a way that is in line with the common interests and future development of South Korea and Japan.”
The Kishida government said it welcomed South Korea’s plan and stood by past official statements expressing remorse for Japan’s wartime aggression in Asia. It said it would also allow Japanese companies to make voluntary donations to South Korean foundations.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden called Yoon’s proposal “a groundbreaking new chapter in cooperation and partnership among America’s closest allies.”
Soon after, South Korea and Japan announced talks to resume trade relations. South Korea’s industry ministry also said it would suspend a case against Japan’s export restrictions at the World Trade Organization. South Korea’s defense ministry said it would strengthen security cooperation with Japan, including trilateral relations with the United States.
But the plan has faced fierce opposition from former forced laborers, who have continued to demand direct payments and an apology from Japan. Meanwhile, opposition politicians have condemned this as “submissive diplomacy”.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, called on Yoon’s government to withdraw the plan, calling it “the greatest disgrace and stain in the history of diplomacy”. The opposition leader’s comments raised fears of a reversal in South Korea’s stance if the Democratic Party returns to power.
A Gallup poll earlier this week showed that nearly 60 percent of South Koreans opposed the proposal because it would not require a fresh apology and compensation from Japan. Polls also show that 85 percent of South Koreans believe the current Japanese government has no remorse for its colonial rule.
What to expect from the Yoon-Kishida summit?
Amid the tense situation, Yoon’s visit is an “important milestone” aimed at normalizing bilateral relations with Japan, according to his office.
It noted that Yin also wanted to expand various security, economic and cultural fields and revitalize exchanges between the two peoples “to overcome the unfortunate history of the past and move towards the future”.
It is expected that Yin Xiyue and Kishida Fumio will hold a summit meeting on Thursday, 16th, followed by a dinner. Kishida is expected to take Yoon to restaurants in Tokyo’s Ginza district for Japanese omurice, one of the South Korean president’s favorite dishes, according to Japanese media reports.
Yoon’s visit will be the first bilateral visit by a South Korean leader to Japan since former President Lee Myung-bak visited Tokyo in December 2011.
Analysts have welcomed the visit but are skeptical that the reconciliation will last.
Jeffrey Kingston, a professor of history and Asian studies at Temple University in Japan, said, “Yon is about to sign the recent agreement with Kishida on wartime forced labor, which is an issue driven by security concerns and Washington’s desire for its allies to work together to deal with the current situation. An agreement fueled by threats rather than a desire to dwell on a shared history.”
“But in both countries, there is little support for the deal, so it is unlikely that differences will be buried for long, again increasing the chances of disappointment and sowing recriminations,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Like the 2015 comfort women agreement, the forced labor agreement has received little attention. It has attempted to diplomatically sidestep the lingering trauma of gross human rights abuses, and there have been no grand gestures of repentance or reconciliation. “
How has it affected the area?
Improved relations between South Korea and Japan could pave the way for the two neighbors and U.S. allies to cooperate more closely on issues of mutual concern related to North Korea and China.
Jia Chunjin, a professor of international relations at Sogang University in South Korea, said, “This visit is very important because in a sense, the visit and the summit meeting with the Japanese prime minister will be a catalyst to break the deadlock between the two countries, which for various reasons need to Cooperation, including strengthening defense and deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and nuclear weapons, protecting and promoting a rules-based international order, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, and strengthening economic security.”
But much depends on Kishida’s actions, Kim noted.
Kim told Al Jazeera, “As South Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin said, Yoon’s solution to compensation for forced victims during the war is like a half-full glass because Japan needs to reciprocate South Korea’s gesture of goodwill.”
Kishida’s plans are unclear, but Japanese media recently said the prime minister was considering a reciprocal visit to South Korea after the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May “to speed up efforts to get bilateral relations back on track”.