N. Korean human rights in Japan
.jpg?w=728)
By Kim Mi-kyoung
North Korea launched 21 ballistic missiles and conducted two nuclear tests in 2016. The Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe emphasized “substantially more serious” nature of Pyongyang’s provocation in addressing the U.N. general assembly on Sept. 21. He went on to demand “entirely distinct” means to deal with the increasingly belligerent Kim Jung-un regime. Abe managed to line up the U.S. and the U.K. in his calls for a new U.N. resolution for sanctions on North Korea. Even China, Pyongyang’s traditional ally, joined the rally in denouncing the Kim regime.
A series of denunciation was soon followed by the South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se the next day. His agenda, however, was on human rights, not nukes. He demanded the U.N. to go beyond the usual lip service on responsibility to protect, but to take “meaningful action.” North Korea problem constitutes of nuclear threats and human rights violations. And these two issues are not separable for Japan.
North Korea is a self-proclaimed nuclear power. North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests for the past 10 years. The yields of bomb and quake magnitudes have been increasing accordingly. The Kim regime claims that “miniaturization” of nuclear warheads has been complete and it can exercise consummate level and type of counterattack if and when the U.S. engages in preemptive strike.
The Abe administration argues that its insecurity stems from geographical proximity and the Peace Constitution. While Japan cannot change its geographic location, it can amend the article 9 of the Constitution. Pyongyang’s provocation is a necessary condition for PM Abe to continue his hawkish stance. Abe has no reason not to utilize the threats to his maximum advantage. It often appears as if Kim is the biggest supporter of Abe. That is one big irony in the bilateral relations.
Another irony lies with the entanglement of nuclear threats with human rights violations in both societies. The violations pertain to the following groups: Japanese wives of Koreans who were repatriated to North Korea (1950s-1984); Japanese abductees in North Korea (1970s-1980s); repatriated Korean escapees living in Japan (2000-present); and Korean residents in Japan (1910-present). The violations put the living and breathing human faces on the nukes. The nukes have deeply hurting words written on them. The incidences of "hate speech" increase targeting a most vulnerable population such as pre-school children. They did not choose their parents' nationality, and have nothing to do with the Kim regime's nuke development programs.
Japan enacted North Korean Human Rights Acts in 2006. Article 1 of the Act states that it aims to “deepen the public’s recognition of Japan regarding human rights violations in North Korea, elucidate the actual situation of human rights violations in North Korea and prevent such violations through cooperation with international community.” Article 7 was added to the amended Acts of July 2007 formatting the basis for economic sanctions to resolve the abduction issues. The Acts show Tokyo’s prioritization of its citizens’ rights over universal human rights norms.
The writer is associate professor at Hiroshima City University. She can be reached at mkkim_33@hotmail.com.