Abe grows worse

By Park Moo-jong

Four years ago, I wrote a column titled "Abe's absurd, abnormal remarks" after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe desperately distorted historical facts about Korea-Japan relations in an apparent bid to win the support of far right-wingers.

I'd like to quote the last paragraphs of the column as Abe has started a trade war with South Korea: Abba Eban (1915-2002), an Israeli diplomat, said in a London speech in 1970, "History teaches that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives."

"Germany proves this. Unless Abe stops his absurd and abnormal behavior, he will only lose the confidence of other countries in the long run. Japan should take lessons from history as Germany did."

Four years have passed. But regrettably, nothing has changed. Rather, Abe who has been in power since 2012 has grown worse. His words and deeds remind me of something the late French President Charles de Gaulle's said: "He (politician) is surprised to be taken at his word, since he never believes what he says."

Japan, under the prolonged leadership of Abe, was, for the first time, the chair of the G20 summit held in Osaka for two days from June 28. During a press conference at the close of the meeting, Abe reiterated his previous commitment to send out a strong message to the world in support of "free, fair and nondiscriminatory trade."

Abe also said that during the two-day summit, representative leaders were able to confirm the basic principles of "free trade," and that they had pledged to use "all policy tools" to support the global economy.

Abe made the "right" remarks like teaching a grandma to suck eggs just two days before he came up with an unfair and discriminatory policy of restricting exports to South Korea, a G20 member, of three materials critical to manufacturing semiconductors and smartphone displays.

The quite different words of Abe begs the question: "Is Abe Janus-faced?" He looks like a bull in a china shop when he handles matters related to South Korea at least.

Abe's officials ridiculously claim that the measure was intended to prevent high-tech materials from flowing into North Korea. Yet, everybody knows that Abe is retaliating against the recent South Korean Supreme Court's decision awarding damages to Koreans forced to work for Japanese companies during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. They are hiding the sky with their palms.

It is easily understandable why most foreign media outlets are critical of Tokyo's unfair and discriminatory measure against Seoul. It is a fact that Japan is a signature country enjoying prosperity thanks to the celebration of "free trade."

Japan was defeated in the Pacific Theater during World War II that it started with an air attack on Hawaii's Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. What helped Japan make a surprising economic leap to become a leading global economy was the unexpected special procurement demands of the 1950-53 Korean War and its entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1955.

To recall, the United States even accepted economic losses in order to prevent Japan's rearmament. GATT, signed under the U.S. initiative in 1947 removed tariff barriers and trade restrictions, became a stepping stone for Japan's postwar economic growth.

Undoubtedly, Japan is the greatest beneficiary of the free trade system, built by U.S. sacrifice.

Since the normalization of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo in 1965, Japan has been enjoying an enormous surplus from its trade with South Korea, an eventual cash cow for Japan. Over the past 53 years since 1965, South Korea has never recorded a trade surplus with the total deficit amounting to $604.6 billion.

There is no way for Abe, a seasoned politician steering one of the leading countries on this planet, not to know the simple fact that he has chosen what will eventually be a lose-lose game this time. He was desperate to secure enough Upper House seats to revise the Constitution to make Japan a "normal country" that could start a war. His ruling camp won the election Sunday, but failed to secure enough seats to help Abe's life-long dream come true.

However, he is likely to push ahead with his scheme. An international consensus is necessary to have Abe give up his bid for constitutional revision. And what is "most" important is the unity of our people in countering Abe's foolish trade war. It is our misfortune to have such a person as the leader of our neighboring country.

We should not forget a lesson from history: Internal splits in the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) were responsible for the Japanese invasion in 1592 and their occupation of the peninsula in 1910. There should be no feud in the political circle, among others, in tackling the latest emergency provoked by Abe who has never changed.

Park Moo-jong (emjei29@gmail.com) is a standing adviser of The Korea Times. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English daily newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter since 1974.