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| Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech as new Emperor Naruhito attends a ritual after succeeding his father Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Wednesday. / AP-Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
The Japanese government plans to hire more specialists handling international disputes, in what political analysts in Seoul said is a move to prepare for legal tussles with the South Korean government over historical disputes.
"Tokyo may file more lawsuits against Seoul over historical documents in major international courts such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the country is on track to hire more such specialists," a Japanese source with knowledge of the situation said, Monday.
Data released last year by the Japanese government has shown its foreign ministry has begun nurturing archivists and advisers on diplomatic documents relating to territorial and historical disputes with its neighboring countries in East Asia, which includes China and Russia as well as South Korea.
Observers said the move is interpreted as a "necessary step" in preparation for possible legal battles with the South Korean government by using the ministry's diplomatic documents, especially when dealing with historic issues over wartime sex slavery and forced labor.
Seoul and Tokyo have been involved in territorial and historical disputes after the South's ruling last October in favor of South Korean forced laborers who had worked during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation. The highest court in South Korea ordered certain Japanese firms active here to compensate those victims. Since the ruling, bilateral relations have been worsening.
Seoul has remained positive but passive in addressing such growing tussles with Tokyo, although Japan said it was looking for ways to file a lawsuit with the ICJ disputing the ruling by claiming the court ruling from Seoul is against the standards of international law.
However, experts anticipate that Tokyo's strategic move may not be effective under the current atmosphere prioritizing human rights.
"The Japanese government may think the international organization is their ally, but it might be wrong. There is a possibility the country may lose the suits due to the human rights-friendly atmosphere in the global community," another source familiar with the matter said wishing to remain anonymous.
The disagreement over the forced labor ruling is just one of a number of legal battles between the two countries. Just last month, Japan lost a lawsuit filed by Korea at the World Trade Organization over a dispute related to food contamination concerns due to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Japan also withdrew from the International Whaling Commission last year.
Meanwhile, South Korean experts suggested that Seoul file a suit with the ICJ as it stands a high chance of winning.
"Filing a lawsuit with the ICJ will be a peaceful way to resolve the diplomatic disputes between Seoul and Tokyo as there will be fewer conflicts between the two countries before the court decision, which will take three to four years from the beginning of the lawsuit. Also, the two can agree to suspend the court orders," Lee Won-deok, an expert on Japan at Kookmin University, said during a parliamentary seminar on Korea-Japan relations last month.
"It is an important move to admit an individual as a subject under the current international law, meaning the individual has rights and obligations," said Shin Woo-jung, judge at the Cheongju District Court.
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