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| The photo shows Battleship Island, where it is believed between 500 and 800 Koreans were forced to work between 1943 and 1945, with 122 of them dying. Korea Times file |
Domestic politics also affect Korea-Japan relations
By Kang Seung-woo
Japan's refusal to recognize the forced mobilization of Korean laborers on the UNESCO-listed Battleship Island during World War II is feared to throw cold water on a long-awaited reconciliatory mood between Seoul and Tokyo, according to diplomatic observers.
Historical and territorial issues had caused Korea-Japan relations to sink to the lowest level since the postwar period. But the two countries recently started to show signs of rapprochement behind new Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's "future-oriented" approach toward the neighboring country to get bilateral ties on track, as evidenced by two summits that took place between Yoon and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in less than four months.
But the Japanese government is risking undermining the tentative detente with Korea by simply dismissing calls from Seoul to face up to history regarding the wartime atrocities ― an agreement Japan made with UNESCO in 2015 when the agency added the island and 22 more Meiji-era industrial sites to its world heritage list.
According to Japanese media outlets, in response to UNESCO's request last year for an implementation report on the follow-up measures on the forced labor issue by Dec. 1, the Japanese government submitted a report, Nov. 30, without specifying how to address the issue and merely repeating past explanations that the mobilization of laborers during World War II affected all Japanese citizens, including those living on the Korean Peninsula, who were considered citizens under the 1910-45 colonial rule.
"If it is accurate, that is a troubling sign that Prime Minister Kishida and his cabinet are missing the opportunity to dramatically improve ties between Japan and Korea by seriously tackling the issues of wartime history and justice," said Daniel Sneider, a lecturer in East Asian Studies at Stanford University.
"Recognizing the role of Korean forced laborers in the history of the mines on Battleship Island would be a small, but symbolic gesture towards reconciliation. I hope the Japanese government does not miss this chance to show its understanding of the complex and troubled past that exists between the two countries."
According to a government report, between 500 and 800 Koreans were forced to work on the island between 1943 and 1945 and 122 of them died while laboring in coal mines there.
Robert Manning, a distinguished senior fellow at the Stimson Center, presented a similar view, describing Japan's move as "ill-timed."
"It seems that UNESCO's criticism of Japan's inadequate acknowledgment of forced?Korean labor underscores the latest example of Japan's problem in dealing with the history issue in ROK-Japan relations," Manning said.
"Japan's approach to the issue is particularly ill-timed in light of President Yoon's efforts to center ROK-Japan relations on the requirements of the future." The ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, Korea's official name.
Manning added that Japan's inadequate acknowledgment reflects a certain "Korea fatigue" in Japan, a hangover from the former Moon Jae-in administration's years, failing to adapt to a new set of circumstances. Korea fatigue is a phenomenon that refers to criticism of Korea for repeatedly raising historical issues stemming from Japan's colonial rule over the peninsula.
Many say that domestic politics in both countries are an impediment to diplomatic relations because bilateral ties need to be handled in consideration of popular sentiment among locals.
"I'm not sure it is a conscious strategy so much as a lingering difficulty in coming to terms with Japan's historical behavior in the past century. For Tokyo, Japanese opinion, particularly those of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party constituencies take precedencies over understanding Korean sensitivities," Manning said.
In that respect, it remains to be seen if both leaders dare to take actions to improve bilateral relations despite low approval ratings for Yoon and Kishida.
Yoon's approval rating stood at 38.9 percent, according to a poll released Monday, while the support rate for Kishida's Cabinet was 39 percent during the same period.
"A solution (to the issue of compensation and apology for the Koreans) will require compromise and leadership from both President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida ― we will see if they are up to the challenge. Both men are constrained by low public approval ratings and questions about their ability to manage their governments," Sneider said.
Manning also said that a truth attributed to former U.S. House Speaker Tip O'Neill was that all politics is local.
"Unfortunately that applies across the board, and I suspect the Kishida administration is responding to its sense of Japanese political views," Manning added.
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