Japan's defense chief will visit next week

By Jun Ji-hye

Gen Nakatani

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani will visit South Korea next week, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday.

During the trip, he is expected to hold talks with his South Korean counterpart, Han Min-koo, about mutual security-related issues, ministry officials said.

“Japan has delivered its hope to hold the defense ministers’ talks between the two countries,” the ministry said. “The two sides are working on detailing the schedule.”

During their talks, the two defense ministers are expected to discuss the passage of a set of controversial security bills at Tokyo’s parliament that allow Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to assist other countries in armed conflict in the name of the right to collective self-defense ― the use of force to support an ally under attack.

Tokyo has constantly expressed its hope to explain the passage of the laws to Seoul, apparently wary of the latter’s concerns over the former’s possible entrance on and near South Korean territory.

Nakatani is also expected to stress the need for pushing again for a bilateral agreement to share sensitive military information to better deter missile and nuclear threats from North Korea.

In June 2012, the two countries were close to the signing of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) when former President Lee Myung-bak was in power. But the bilateral pact fell through at the last minute owing to fierce public criticism of the government’s secretive handling of the negotiations.

The passage of security bills and the push for the signing of the GSOMIA often invite public resistance here, which stems from the bitter memory of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule.

During the 14th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, which took place in Singapore in May, Han and Nakatani agreed to resume discussions about mutual concerns and defense cooperation between the two nations.

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