Tokyo slammed for dampening efforts to mend ties
Long-time watchers of Korean-Japanese relations are feeling deja vu over two things ― some that repeat every year and some that come back every five years.
First, the annualized events.
Early this week, the foreign ministry called in a Japanese diplomat in Seoul to lodge a protest over the Japanese foreign minister's recent claims to the East Sea islets of Dokdo.
A few days before, the government summoned a different Japanese Embassy official. It was to protest Tokyo's move to submit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list a mine linked to the wartime forced labor of Koreans.
The yearly repetitions have only begun. In April, the Japanese education ministry will approve more revisionist textbooks justifying the country's colonization of Korea and embellishing its militarist past. In August, a group of Japanese politicians will pay tribute to the Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 Class-A war criminals are enshrined. In between, Tokyo's defense white paper will reiterate its sovereignty claim to Takeshima in the Sea of Japan, and right-wing groups will deny former sex slaves and forced laborers.
Every time, Seoul will protest, and Korean media outlets will rebuke Tokyo. But Japan won't budge an inch, knowing all these, too, shall pass. That is if the past is any guide. This year, however, things may turn out a little differently. President Yoon Suk Yeol, anxious to restore ties with Tokyo, may not protest much, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may act in kind, toning down historical provocations somewhat.
However, Japan will not change its basic stance maintained at least since 1965. And that will put bilateral ties back to the five-year cycle, matching the Korean leaders' term in office. All previous Korean presidents started off their terms with pledges to mend fences with Japan, but then were dismayed and angered by Tokyo's recalcitrance and left even more strained ties for their successors.
The hot-and-cold changes were more noticeable when conservatives took power here. Former President Kim Young-sam, infuriated by Tokyo's adamancy, vowed to "fix Japan's manners," but Tokyo retaliated later by refusing to help Seoul when the worst currency crisis hit Korea. Lee Myung-bak had to give up an intelligence-sharing pact just 50 minutes before signing it due to angry public opinion. He abruptly visited Dokdo and demanded the Japanese emperor's apology, freezing bilateral ties for years. In contrast, Park Geun-hye started aloof but ended with a hurried agreement on the wartime sex slavery issue endorsed by few.
Looking back, Japan has barely changed for nearly six decades, good or bad. What changed were Korea's responses depending on its leaders' inclinations and ideologies and growing national power. It is well known that the Japanese have two minds ― "honne" and "tatemae." The former refers to a person's true feelings and desires. The latter refers to behaviors and opinions one displays in public. Koreans hate two-faced people, but the Japanese think it is natural and necessary. Like it or not, duplicity or ambiguity appears necessary, at least in diplomacy.
That explains why diplomatic pundits say Kim Dae-jung handled the Korea-Japan relationship best. Kim put the past behind in exchange for a sincere expression of remorse and tried to find common goals and interests.
Ostensibly, Yoon's start does not seem so bad, at least as far as thawing frozen relations is concerned. His unilateral courtship of Tokyo, which makes it difficult to know who the injurer and the injured are, as seen in his hasty approach to the forced labor issue, might be forgivable if it increases national interests in the long term. It might also be inevitable for Seoul to become a No. 3 partner in this part of the world after Washington and Tokyo.
For Yoon to become like Kim Dae-jung, however, he must have inner goals ― equal partnership, regional peace and the eventual unification of the Koreas. So far, he has shown opposite behaviors ― subservience to larger partners and belligerence toward potential adversaries.
As things stand now, Yoon will be lucky if he does not fall into the same traps as his conservative predecessors.
