In a letter addressed to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga expressed his hope for renewed and improved relations between the two nations, who have been caught up in a longstanding dispute regarding history and trade.
Blue House spokesman Kang Min-seok said that Suga sent the note as a reply to Moon’s congratulatory message to him after his appointment as the successor of Shinzo Abe. In the letter, Moon said that he was willing to work together with Tokyo to “improve relations and foster diplomatic, economic and people-to-people exchanges”.
The two states are at loggerheads over issues regarding compensation for victims of forced labour during World War II and the treatment of women during Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Tensions have further escalated in recent weeks, due to a South Korean court initiating proceedings against Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. for damages to four former World War II workers. Japan has maintained that the South Korean court ruling is a “violation of international law” because it counters the 1965 bilateral agreement signed between the countries. According to the treaty, Japan paid $300 million in grants and $200 million in low-interest loans on the understanding that all of South Korea’s “claims were settled completely and finally”. In response, South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that agreements such as those signed in 1965 do not “impede individual victims’ rights to seek redress”. Therefore, if Japanese companies operating in South Korea do not pay the said compensation, local courts can seize the company’s assets in South Korea. More than a dozen such cases are pending in South Korean courts and could impact about 70 Japanese companies.
In his letter, Suga said that he wished the two sides would work together to establish “forward-looking ties” by overcoming “difficult issues” between them. He also reportedly held a telephone conversation with United States President Donald Trump over the weekend, but the details of this call have not been made public yet. The Blue House has also not revealed any plans of Moon speaking directly with Suga.
PM Suga Expresses Hopes for Improved Relations Between Japan and South Korea
The two states are at loggerheads over issues regarding compensation for victims of forced labour during World War II and the treatment of women during Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.
September 22, 2020
Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga. SOURCE: REUTERS