Korea's proactive move and Japan's reluctance

By Sandip Kumar Mishra

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Tokyo for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 16. It was a bilateral meeting that happened after a gap of almost 12 years. Despite the Japanese leadership, which kept repeating that no bilateral dialogue is possible without South Korea resolving the forced labor issue, Yoon has been consistently working to reach out to Japan and restore good relations.

In the most recent move, Yoon proposed on March 6 to establish a public foundation that would compensate forced labor victims in South Korea. The foundation would receive voluntary donations and unlike Moon Jae-in's proposal to have a joint fund between South Korea and Japan, it would not seek any Japanese government contributions. It is not a popular move in South Korea and as per an opinion poll, less than 40 percent of South Koreans support this move.

The critics of the proposal rightly say that the forced labor victim needs an admission of the wrongdoing and a sincere apology from Japan more than compensation. But since Japan appears stubborn, the president of South Korea decided that Japan's admission of the wrong-doing and sincere apology should be postponed for the time being and attempts must be made to restore relations for the sake of economic and other strategic mutual benefits.

There have been some positive developments already between the two countries. For example, it is being reported that security talks between officials of foreign and defense ministries of both countries may begin soon. It has also been announced that talks on withdrawing the trade restrictions imposed in the last four years between the two countries would also begin.

However, it appears that Japan so far has been moving very reluctantly and making minimal reciprocal gestures. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his "appreciation" for the proposed settlement plan of South Korea to resolve the forced labor issue. Even during the summit meeting Kishida made limited remarks that Japan assesses the South Korean proposal as an attempt to restore a healthy relationship between the two countries.

However, an important development is that the three-day bilateral talks between the two countries from March 14 to 16, saw Japan announce its decision to lift its export restrictions on the three materials critical for the production of semiconductors and flexible displays, namely fluorine polyimide, photoresist and hydrogen fluoride, to South Korea.

South Korea responded by announcing that it would withdraw its complaint from the World Trade Organization over the Japanese export control restrictions. It is important to underline that Japan has not yet reinstated South Korea on its "white list" of trusted trading partners. Stating that both countries would have to carry out more talks before such a change was made.

Yoon also tried to create soft connections with Japan by going with Fumio Kishida to a famous Japanese restaurant called Rengatei and eating Omurice (a fried rice recipe topped with an omelet). He said that Japan is a close neighbor of South Korea and both share democratic and universal values and would gain a lot by cooperation in both security and the economy. He also announced the complete normalization of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) which is considered important with respect to dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile tests as well as other provocative behaviors.

Overall, Japan appears less forthcoming and the Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi did not go beyond saying that Japan honors the position of past Japanese administrations, including the 1998 joint declaration by South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in which Obuchi expressed deep remorse and an apology for the 'huge damage and suffering' to the Korean people during the colonial era.

It appears less than expected by the Korean people and Japan needs to be more forthcoming. Actually, Yoon said that Japan needs to take "corresponding actions" to its talk about future-oriented relations with South Korea.

Now, it's pertinent for Japan to move beyond its inflexible position. It should not look as if Yoon has been unilaterally appeasing an 'arrogant' Japan and that Tokyo has been successful in bringing South Korea towards its position. Otherwise, domestic support for South Korea's rapprochement would get further diminished, becoming difficult to sustain the process. If Japan reciprocates South Korean moves by walking a few steps forward, it would be possible for the South Korean current administration to have more domestic acceptability. Olive branches from any party must always be appreciated and reciprocated and thus, Japan needs to show a similar willingness. Japan needs to be ready to give "takeaways" to South Korea and move out of its reluctant stance.

The author (sandipmishra10@gmail.com) is associate professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.