Kishida eyes return visit to Seoul to gain upper hand in trilateral ties

President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their summit in Tokyo, March 16. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

US push prompts Japanese PM's earlier-than-expected Korea visit

By Nam Hyun-woo

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to visit South Korea later this month, in what appears to be a move to gain the upper hand over Seoul in trilateral relations between South Korea, Japan and the U.S.

Citing multiple government officials from both the South Korean and Japanese governments, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday that the prime minister will visit Seoul from May 7 to 8. It will be his first trip to South Korea since taking office.

The newspaper reported that the visit is aimed at responding to President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Japan in March, during which the South Korean leader showed his willingness to improve chilled bilateral relations.

The South Korean presidential office did not confirm this, but admitted that “consultations are ongoing” over the prime minister's visit to South Korea.

If it takes place, the visit will be the first by a Japanese prime minister since February 2018, when Shinzo Abe made one on the occasion of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics here. In terms of bilateral diplomacy, however, it will be the first visit since October 2011, when Yoshihiko Noda visited Seoul for a summit with then-South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Initially, Kishida was anticipated to visit Seoul around summer after the Group of Seven summit slated for May 19 to 21 in Hiroshima, in which Yoon will participate as the leader of an invited country.

However, the visit seems to be happening sooner than expected resulting from an apparent push from the U.S. for prompt improvements in Seoul-Japan relations.

During a summit in Washington, D.C. last week, U.S. President Joe Biden hailed Yoon's political “courage” to take a step forward to mend ties with Japan, despite strong domestic opposition against his administration's plan to have a South Korean foundation cover the compensation costs of Korean victims who were forced to labor by Japanese companies during World War II.

“Thank you for your political courage and personal commitment to diplomacy with Japan,” Biden told Yoon during a joint press conference after their summit. “I've worked in these issues for a long time, and I can tell you, it makes an enormous difference when we all pull together.” Biden made similar remarks in the opening speech of his summit with Yoon.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol watches U.S. President Joe Biden read a statement during their joint press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 26. Yonhap

The U.S. has been supporting and championing greater dialogue and consultations between South Korea and Japan for the purpose of strengthening ties between the three countries to control North Korea's nuclear threats, handle challenges the U.S. sees in the Indo-Pacific and enable stronger economic security.

So far, Yoon has taken proactive steps to improve bilateral relations with Japan, making the political decision of enduring domestic criticism for rapprochement despite Japan's obstinate stance on historic issues, in order to facilitate stronger trilateral security cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.

This has also made South Korea appear hold the upper hand over Japan in the dynamics of the trilateral cooperation and experts said Kishida's expected early visit to Seoul is a response to this.

“It is clear that South Korea is now holding the upper hand in Seoul-Tokyo relations and Kishida is showing a response to Yoon's rapprochement gesture,” said Choi Eun-mi, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

“Improved Seoul-Tokyo relations is what the U.S. has been seeking and it is quite certain that [South] Korea made proactive gestures first. We saw Washington giving credit to Yoon during his summit with Biden.”

Choi noted that there has been criticism in the U.S. over Japan's lack of response to Yoon's actions, thus Japan is now moving to show its gesture toward improving the relations through Kishida's early visit.

“From the U.S.' perspective, the upcoming Group of Seven meeting is important, because the three countries are almost certain to hold a trilateral summit there and announce something important,” she said. “However, if Kishida does not visit Seoul before Yoon visits Hiroshima, it will be Yoon making a visit to Japan twice before Kishida makes one. This is pressure for Kishida as well.”

Kishida's earlier-than-expected visit is a signal for Japan's intention to mend ties with South Korea, but it remains to be seen whether the prime minister will make more advanced remarks on historic issues than his earlier stance.

During the March summit with Yoon, Kishida said his administration inherits the past Japanese Cabinets' position on the awareness of historical issues, without making an additional apology on the forced labor issue.

Choi said chances are low for Kishida to make rapprochement remarks further than the earlier statements, given consensus in Japan that all wartime compensation issues were settled under a 1965 treaty between the two countries that normalized diplomatic relations.

“It is unlikely for Kishida to make an additional apology during his visit to Seoul and Yoon even noted in a recent interview that he cannot accept the notion Japan must kneel because of our history 100 years ago,” Choi said. “What can be possible or desirable is Kishida's sympathetic or comforting remarks for the victims.”