TOKYO/SEOUL, May 7 (Reuters) – Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Seoul on Sunday to meet South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, dealing with a sceptical public there because the leaders search deeper ties amid nuclear threats from North Korea and China’s rising assertiveness.
Kishida’s bilateral go to, the primary by a Japanese chief to Seoul in 12 years, returns the journey Yoon made to Tokyo in March, the place they sought to shut a chapter on the historic disputes which have dominated Japan-South Korea relations for years.
Soon earlier than departing, Kishida advised reporters he hoped to have “an open discussion based on a relationship of trust” with Yoon, with out elaborating on particular points.
Yoon is dealing with criticism at house that he has given greater than he is obtained in his efforts to enhance relations with Japan, together with by proposing that South Korean companies – not Japanese firms as ordered by a courtroom – compensate victims of wartime labour throughout Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial occupation.
South Korean officers are hopeful that Kishida will make some type of gesture in return and supply some political assist, though few observers anticipate any additional formal apology for historic wrongs. Yoon himself has signalled he does not imagine that’s needed.
The focus of the summit as an alternative will possible revolve round safety cooperation within the face of North Korea’s nuclear threats, mentioned Shin-wha Lee, a professor of worldwide relations at Seoul-based Korea University.
“Within the framework of the ‘Washington Declaration,’ which outlines plans to strengthen extended deterrence, Korea will explore ways to enhance the collaborative efforts with Japan,” she added.
“We have a lot of opportunities to cooperate when it comes to addressing the threat of North Korea” and securing a free and open Indo-Pacific, a Japanese overseas ministry official mentioned.
Tensions have simmered between Washington and Beijing as China turns into extra assertive in its territorial claims over Taiwan and within the South China Sea, whereas the U.S. shores up alliances throughout the Asia-Pacific.
But the historic variations between South Korea and Japan additionally threaten to solid a shadow over the blossoming ties between its two leaders.
The majority of South Koreans imagine Japan hasn’t apologised sufficiently for atrocities throughout Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, Lee mentioned. “They think that Prime Minister Kishida should show sincerity during his visit to South Korea, such as mentioning historical issues and expressing apologies,” she added.
On the opposite hand, Japan is taking it sluggish, mentioned Daniel Russel, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific.
“Kishida is being careful not to go faster than his domestic politics permit,” he added, pointing to the unilateral abrogation by the earlier Korean authorities of a settlement on ‘consolation girls’ as a supply of Japan’s wariness.
In 2015, South Korea and Japan reached a settlement beneath which Tokyo issued an official apology to “comfort women” who say they have been enslaved in wartime brothels, and supplied 1 billion yen ($9.23 million) to a fund to assist the victims.
But then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in determined to dissolve the fund in 2018, successfully scrapping the settlement as he mentioned it didn’t do sufficient to contemplate victims’ considerations.
Still, South Korea is an “important neighbour that we must cooperate with on various global issues,” Japan’s overseas ministry has mentioned.
Kishida has invited Yoon to the Group of Seven summit set for later this month in Japan and can maintain trilateral talks with the U.S. on the sidelines.
Kishida can even urge for trilateral talks with China as early as this 12 months, Kyodo reported on Friday, citing a number of unnamed diplomatic sources.
Reporting by Seoyun Kang, Josh Smith, and Hyonhee Shin in Seoul, Sakura Murakami in Tokyo, and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
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