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| President Moon Jae-in greets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of their summit in Chengdu, China, Dec. 24, 2019. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae |
By Do Je-hae
Korea's model responses to the COVID-19 have resulted in rising calls from many countries for help with crucial tools such as test kits and masks. The crisis has given Korea a chance to extend its cooperation with other countries not only in relation to the pandemic but also in other fields in the future.
With Japan, however, the cooperative mood is going backward. The relations between the two countries, which soured over historical and trade-related disputes, are becoming even worse as Japan continues downplaying Korea's quarantine models and Korea in return opposes humanitarian aid to Japan.
According to a recent Asahi Shimbun report, the Japanese health authority hinted that they will first test the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits for detecting COVID-19 infections before using possible supplies from Korea. This is seen to reflect a mistrust in the accuracy of Korean test kits, which have been praised worldwide for their efficiency.
Following the report, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a briefing on April 27 that the two countries had not discussed cooperation on COVID-19.
Korea is not showing the level of enthusiasm for offering support to Japan as has it has done with other countries.
"Our government is receiving requests from many countries for exports and humanitarian aid regarding our quarantine products. For this, we have created a taskforce team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the overseas expansion of goods related to COVID-19," Yoon Tae-ho, head of the quarantine team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, during a briefing, Tuesday.
"But we are not considering support for Japan at this time," he said, adding Korea decides on support by comprehensively considering various factors such as the level of stock of test kits or other quarantine items in the countries that seek help.
The ministry also said that it had no plans to send masks to Japan. This came in response to a local media report that the Korean government could consider delivering masks to Japan via the Korean-Japanese community.
Yet some Koreans continue to display negative sentiment toward supporting Japan. Close to 10 petitions have been posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website claiming it was inappropriate to consider providing masks to Japan, gaining tens of thousands of signatures.
"First, Japan is a country that can solve its mask shortage problem by expanding mask production facilities or increasing imports from China," one petitioner wrote. "Japan has ridiculed Korea's COVID-19 response until recently. If Korea has enough masks, it needs to provide them to other countries with the exception of Japan."
Such responses came as Japan had previously dismissed the efficacy of Korea's COVID-19 response. Now reporting a large number of confirmed cases, Japan has adopted many of Korea's response models, including drive-thru testing.
Japan also tightened entry restrictions for travelers from Korea in early March at the height of infections here. In response, Korea also toughened entry rules on travelers entering the country ― temporarily suspending visa waivers for Japanese citizens and strengthening the screening process for new visa issuance. On Monday, Japan announced an extension of its entry ban on travelers from Korea and other countries until the end of May.
The delay of the Tokyo Olympics due to the international spread of COVID-19 is also seen as a major hindrance to improving Korea-Japan relations.
Before the pandemic, the Tokyo Summer Olympics Games had been eyed as an occasion for high-level exchanges between the two countries. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Korea to take part in the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. During a New Year's press conference, President Moon Jae-in said that a high-level delegation could be sent to the Olympics.
Since the outbreak of the virus, Moon has spoken to 30 heads of states on the phone regarding COVID-19 responses, starting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Feb. 2, according to the presidential office. U.S. President Donald Trump has called twice asking for Korea to export test kits. But Moon and Abe have not spoken on the phone yet.
Bilateral relations have been strained since October 2018, when Korea's Supreme Court ruled in favor of surviving Korean victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. Since then, the two countries have additionally clashed on trade and security issues.
