South Korea's president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday called for a future-oriented approach to help improve strained ties with Japan when he met with Tokyo's Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi.
"South Korea and Japan are partners that share many tasks to tackle such as security and economic prosperity and, therefore, to overcome the current thorny relationships, it is needed to form a future-oriented partnership based on correct perspective toward history," Yoon told Aiboshi, his spokeswoman Kim Eun Hye said.
In Tokyo, Japan's top government spokesman said Aiboshi conveyed to Yoon the importance of improving bilateral relations and Japan's hope for Yoon's leadership to that end.
"Japan and South Korea are important neighbors and healthy Japan-South Korea relations are critical in securing peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno at a regular news conference.
"We intend to closely work with President-elect Yoon to improve Japan-South Korea relations, and the ambassador conveyed the message to him," Matsuno added.
Ties between the two countries have sunk to their lowest point in decades due to historical disputes, including the issue of compensation for South Korean wartime laborers who worked for Japanese firms, some against their will.
In regard to North Korea's recent indication it would lift a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, Yoon stressed the need for closer cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
"We have to make North Korea be assured that there is nothing it could earn through nuclear arms," Yoon added.
Aiboshi said North Korea's provocations are regarded as a serious challenge to South Korea-Japan security as well as that of the wider world. He added that Japan hopes to cooperate closely with South Korea in pursuit of stability and prosperity in East Asia.
Pyongyang fired a new ICBM last Thursday, bringing condemnation from the international community for violating U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Yoon met with Aiboshi for 25 minutes Monday, their encounter coming after one originally scheduled for March 17 was postponed when the Japanese envoy became infected with the coronavirus.
The president-elect and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed on March 11 to improve bilateral ties and expressed their hope to meet in person when they spoke by phone for the first time after Yoon's win in the March 9 election.
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18 Comments
A great move by Yoon...
Both Japan and South Korea should be independent ... Never trust or rely the Biden administration.
Be good friends and make own defense and offense to protect from China.
"based on correct perspective toward history,"
All sounds great for both nations, but this is the catch......
Good. South Korean politicians have always stoked anti Japanese sentiment for their own benefit. Japan apologized and paid enough. Maybe Japan’s apologies weren’t 100% sincere but they still apologized. The two countries have more shared common interests than differences.
They still hasn't solve the illegally seizing of the japanese company asset issue. Unless that is resolve, i doubt there can be any improvement in ties. Even now i still find it pretty amazing that they can just seize asset from a company to be sold in auction as a way to compensate for the victims. How can you have trust and cooperation when one side can just forcefully seize and sell your stuff?
They really should strive toward a current and future looking agenda without mentioning 20th century history anymore. Both leaders should say that both their respective countries have right wing or leaning elements but will not let that interfere with their current relations.
every few years same rhetoric.
problem is mind setting at both sides.
to be short and frank-nationalism in their heads at both sides they cant overcome.
so yes just another empty talk of politician will be forgotten this evening...
FYI, Yoon is polling LOWER than outgoing Moon right now in approval rating, so his administration is DOA(Dead on arrival). The situation is so bad his term is mocked as "Lame Duck from the start" by the press.
The Democratic party has the supermajority in the parliament, can drop pretty much all of Yoon's agenda they don't like.
Appearing to be soft to Japan will only hurt Yoon's anemic approval rating.
Samit Basu
What's probably more important for Japan is not so much for him to "be soft to Japan" but a possibility that two countries can work together more closely than under Moon (or Lee) in dealing with North Korea.
In regard to North Korea's recent indication it would lift a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, Yoon stressed the need for closer cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
I am more worried that Republic of Korea would attack Nippon than Peoples Republic of China of Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. South Korea wants to annex Tsushima Island.
I always welcome initiatives for countries to communicate and move forward positively, it's a start to even voice the words
HA! Region, ok, maybe.
The world? Critical? No way. Most places have no interest in the childish tit for tat Japan/Korea fight, and it has no bearing on anything.
Gaijinland: "South Korean politicians have always stoked anti Japanese sentiment for their own benefit. Japan apologized and paid enough. Maybe Japan’s apologies weren’t 100% sincere but...."
Well, South Korean's taking the money and saying it would move forward wasn't always sincere either, but...
See how easy that was? Bottom line -- it's a two-way street; it's not all up to the South Korean leader while people here wait and see if he'll simply give Japan a pass. I do not believe the state needs to pay further compensation (private companies should be able to be sued, though, if proof they profited from slave labor or what have you is given -- and remember, companies like Mitsubishi Motors, who used to be Mitsubishi Heavy, apologized FINALLY to POWs from some European nations who were forced to labor, but then refused to even acknowledge Korean and Chinese people dragged to Japan to labor because 'technically we weren't at war' -- but I think that if Japan can FORMALLY apologize, on the record and with no debate, and acknowledge history and not stand for those who deny it, on any side, then South Korea should and absolutely must start to move on and look forward. Germany's done it, other nations have done it, let's do it here and we can all enjoy the benefits of working together as neighbors and friends.
@smithinjapanToday 03:29 pm JST
100％ sincere apology is what? Visiting Yasukuni negates all❓For what must Japan apologize any more. You folks mingle the history of peninsula with the experience of other south-east Asia, which is crafty and lazy attitude.
Don't worry. There's no historical South Korean president who did not say " future oriented relationship" when they started his presidential terms.
This is the catch. The peninsula was a part of Japan. And ALL Japanese, male or female, either conscripted onto the battlefields or mobilized to work at the factories. They were all the same except Koreans were not forced until the last moments of the war. You are just complaining, and yet ignoring the fact many Koreans chose to fight for Japan or willingly worked in Japan by raising their hands for the tasks(as seen more Koreans tried to move into Japan even when such immigration was restricted). Why have this endless anti-Japan narratives which have been looking like their strong moral-supports been infesting and eroding people's mind over there. It is simply because...
You are not facing historical facts and especially inconvenient truths.
Even if Abe downs on his knees and do dogeza like Hatoyama, nothing would change. You just satisfy yourself for very short term.
Go visit Taiwan and the very old people there and think why Taiwan thinks of Japan days completely different from Koreas
Germany's done it? NO period That's the very convenient narrative. other nations have done it? What exactly other nations have done ????? for what?????
Future oriented relationship would start only if South Korea, first of all, could start sincerely consider what those academics ( who have been bravely challenging such fake narratives) are insisting now.
Do not dodge the truths. Face it!
Sorry for the misquote mistake posting kennyG
I wanted to say the older generation of Taiwanese don't like Japan. They only preferred Japan to Chinese rule
I would rather believe what older generation actually says and the poll results surveyed not by Japan but by Taiwanese.
A tip. They don't have to like Japan. How they think of their Japanese days. As I mentioned.
@kennyG
Conscription is not a choice. Stop believing Japanese rightwinger's false claim that Koreans and Taiwanese were volunteers and not conscripts.
＠Samit
Applicants Accepted Rate CompetitionRatio1938 2946人 406人 16.2% 7.3倍
1939 12,348人 613人 4.9% 20.2倍
1940 84,443人 3,060人 3.6% 27.6倍
1941 144,743人 3,208人 2.2% 45.1倍
1942 254,273人 4,077人 1.6% 62.4倍
1943 303,394人 6,000人 1.9% 50.6倍
Conscription started in 1944 but most of those conscripted were still on training and War ended
before they were actually sent to the battlefields