Japan should face up to history squarely
The U.S. has called on South Korea and Japan to improve their ties in a move to beef up trilateral cooperation with its two main Asian allies. This call is part of the Biden administration's newly unveiled Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China's rise and cope with North Korea's military threats.
Stepping up three-way cooperation was included in the strategy's "Indo-Pacific Action Plan" to be pursued over the next 12 to 24 months. Last week, the White House released a 19-page document on the new strategy stressing the need for closer collaboration with regional allies and partners amid the escalating Sino-U.S. rivalry.
The idea of expanding trilateral cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and Japan is nothing new. The Trump administration had also floated the same idea to keep a more assertive China in check, but made little progress due to deteriorating ties between Seoul and Tokyo over thorny historical issues, including wartime forced labor and sex slavery.
Now the problem is that South Korea and Japan are still not ready to bury the hatchet and mend their ties anytime soon. The U.S. cannot galvanize trilateralism before the two Asian allies restore their estranged bilateral relationship. It is necessary for Washington to make efforts to help Seoul and Tokyo leave their historical disputes behind and move forward toward a future-oriented partnership.
In this context, the U.S. hosted a meeting of the top diplomats of the three countries in Hawaii, Saturday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi showed their united front against North Korea which conducted seven rounds of missiles launches, including the test-firing of two hypersonic missiles, last month.
The ministers' meeting drew positive assessments from experts, in that the three counties agreed to deal with the North Korean provocations jointly. But the talks failed to make any progress in boosting trilateral collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region. Of course, it is hard to expect any breakthroughs from holding a one-time meeting. Yet it is disappointing to see South Korea and Japan only agree to disagree.
Minister Chung and his Japanese counterpart Hayashi discussed a set of bilateral pending issues. But they failed to narrow their differences over many historical issues, including Japan's push to submit the Sado mine to UNESCO's World Heritage List. South Korea is strongly opposing the push because about 2,000 Koreans were forced into hard labor at the mine during World War II.
As Chung said, Japan should have an accurate understanding of history. Seoul and Tokyo cannot reconcile and restore their friendship if Japan refuses to face up to history squarely. Japan should make a sincere apology for wartime forced labor and sex slavery and pay compensation to the victims. Tokyo should also lift its export restrictions on key industrial materials for Korean firms immediately. Otherwise, it is difficult to see any progress in bilateral relations and trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
The U.S. has called on South Korea and Japan to improve their ties in a move to beef up trilateral cooperation with its two main Asian allies. This call is part of the Biden administration's newly unveiled Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China's rise and cope with North Korea's military threats.
Stepping up three-way cooperation was included in the strategy's "Indo-Pacific Action Plan" to be pursued over the next 12 to 24 months. Last week, the White House released a 19-page document on the new strategy stressing the need for closer collaboration with regional allies and partners amid the escalating Sino-U.S. rivalry.
The idea of expanding trilateral cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and Japan is nothing new. The Trump administration had also floated the same idea to keep a more assertive China in check, but made little progress due to deteriorating ties between Seoul and Tokyo over thorny historical issues, including wartime forced labor and sex slavery.
Now the problem is that South Korea and Japan are still not ready to bury the hatchet and mend their ties anytime soon. The U.S. cannot galvanize trilateralism before the two Asian allies restore their estranged bilateral relationship. It is necessary for Washington to make efforts to help Seoul and Tokyo leave their historical disputes behind and move forward toward a future-oriented partnership.
In this context, the U.S. hosted a meeting of the top diplomats of the three countries in Hawaii, Saturday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi showed their united front against North Korea which conducted seven rounds of missiles launches, including the test-firing of two hypersonic missiles, last month.
The ministers' meeting drew positive assessments from experts, in that the three counties agreed to deal with the North Korean provocations jointly. But the talks failed to make any progress in boosting trilateral collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region. Of course, it is hard to expect any breakthroughs from holding a one-time meeting. Yet it is disappointing to see South Korea and Japan only agree to disagree.
Minister Chung and his Japanese counterpart Hayashi discussed a set of bilateral pending issues. But they failed to narrow their differences over many historical issues, including Japan's push to submit the Sado mine to UNESCO's World Heritage List. South Korea is strongly opposing the push because about 2,000 Koreans were forced into hard labor at the mine during World War II.
As Chung said, Japan should have an accurate understanding of history. Seoul and Tokyo cannot reconcile and restore their friendship if Japan refuses to face up to history squarely. Japan should make a sincere apology for wartime forced labor and sex slavery and pay compensation to the victims. Tokyo should also lift its export restrictions on key industrial materials for Korean firms immediately. Otherwise, it is difficult to see any progress in bilateral relations and trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
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