[INTERVIEW] Restoring bilateral ties will boost Korean studies in Japan: professor

Junya Nishino, a professor in the Faculty of Law and Politics at Keio University and the director of the Keio Center for Contemporary Korean Studies / Courtesy of Junya Nishino

Japanese professor talks about influence of Korea-Japan ties on Korean studies

By Dong Sun-hwa

Relations between Korea and Japan have deteriorated to their worst level in years due to Tokyo's imposition of export controls on three key materials critical for the semiconductor and display industries here, in apparent retaliation against a 2018 ruling by the Supreme Court of Korea ordering Japanese companies to compensate surviving Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor.

According to Junya Nishino, a professor in the Faculty of Law and Politics at Keio University in Tokyo, this deterioration in bilateral ties has reduced the number of Japanese students willing to major in Korean studies. Nishino is also the director of the Keio Center for Contemporary Korean Studies, a research institution established in 2009 to analyze Korean politics, diplomacy and security.

Nishino believes that mending the frayed ties can help facilitate the growth of Korean studies in Japan.

"It seems that the worsened Korea-Japan relations have created an unfavorable environment for Japanese students to study about Korea, so improving the ties might be helpful in changing the game," Nishino said in a recent Zoom interview with The Korea Times. "Many students are consumers of Korean culture like K-pop and K-dramas, but they are not aspiring researchers."

Junya Nishino speaks during the 2022 Korea Foundation (KF) Global Korean Studies Forum at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel, Aug. 4. Courtesy of the KF

It looks like there is now more room for improvement in bilateral relations, with Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol showing determination to pull off the feat. During his Liberation Day speech, he referred to Japan as a "neighbor that Korea should join forces with to protect shared values."

Yoon is unlike any of his predecessors in terms of his attitude toward Japan, but Nishino pointed out that boosting the two nations' ties is still a tall order.

"Today, Korea-Japan relations are not just about diplomacy," he stressed. "They have become national political issues in both countries. This means that it can be quite challenging for Yoon, whose approval ratings have recently plummeted, to push his policies. In the case of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, he has relatively high approval ratings, but he knows that a lot of Japanese people these days are quite hostile toward Korea ― maybe more antagonistic than what most Koreans think."

This hostility is the reason that the two political leaders should refrain from being hasty, Nishino added.

"They first need to take their time to persuade their citizens and seek their understanding," he said. "They may be able to achieve what they want if they go step by step."

When it comes to Korean studies in Japan, Nishino believes Japan is one of the leaders in this field. According to him, the physical proximity of the two countries and the lexical similarity of their languages helped Japan lay a strong foundation three decades ago, but now he thinks it is time to make another breakthrough.

"Numerous scholars around the world are publishing quality research achievements about Korea," he said. "If we want to join them, we should also present our research findings in English ― rather than in Korean or Japanese ― and try to expand their reach. But we may need more time and effort since English is not our mother tongue."

Junya Nishino, center, a professor in the Faculty of Law and Politics at Keio University, speaks during the 2022 Korea Foundation (KF) Global Korean Studies Forum at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel, Aug. 4. Courtesy of the KF

Many professors of Korean studies insist they need more support from the Korean government and companies to promote Korean studies, but Nishino has a different perspective.

"Korean studies in Japan has a long history," he explained. "Following the democratization of Korea in the 1980s, Korea and Japan began expanding academic cooperation. Korean studies in Japan made visible progress in the 2000s thanks to the co-hosting of the 2002 World Cup and the rise of 'hallyu' (the Korean wave). Considering this context, I think Korea does not have to lend much support to scholars in Japan in a similar way that it does to people in other countries where Korean studies are still at a nascent stage of development. We do appreciate its help, but excessive support can infringe on our academic independence and freedom."

Nishino, who earned his Ph.D. in political science from Yonsei University, is currently researching ongoing political change in Korea.

"This is the first time that Korea has elected a president with no political experience, and I think this signifies a major change in the country, which previously wanted to have an 'experienced' president with strong leadership," he said.

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