ACN’s TAKE: Year 2020 will bring Japan, South Korea cordially closer
The Tuesday meeting between Abe and Moon was in no way less than a Christmas gift to the people of Japan and South Korea.
NEW DELHI: The year 2020 looks all set to bring hopes for reinstating cordial relations between Japan and South Korea who are currently caught in stalemate on the issue wartime labor and trade issues for over a year now.
The 45-minute meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in China on Tuesday, though, did not make substantive progress toward resolving the bilateral issues.
Nonetheless, it was less than a Christmas gift for the people of Japan and South Korea.
The meeting ended a 15-month hiatus in the formal dialogue and paved the way for further interactions between the leaders of the two countries. It also has rekindled hopes that the year 2020 would bring in good news for the people of Japan and South Korea as the relations between two Asian giants are expected to look up again.
The meeting marked a fresh sign of a nascent thaw in relations strained over wartime labor and trade issues.
Abe and Moon met on the sidelines of a trilateral summit that includes China in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdou.
Those concerned with the East Asian affairs, especially related to Japan, Korean Peninsula, and China were closely watching the meeting for hints on whether the two Japan and South Korea can do away with the face-off situation and reinstate cordial relations in the specific context of tackling threats from North Korea.
Both the leaders seemed positive and inclined to resolve their bilateral issues, and expressed a desire to move ahead on issues.
While referring to the South Korean Supreme Court rulings that ordered Japanese companies to compensate Korean wartime laborers who worked for them, Abe told the media after the meeting that the court rulings were a fundamental reason for the deepening rift between the two countries.
However, Abe put the onus of taking initiative towards resolving issues on South Korea asking it to address these issues at an early date.
“South Korea should take the initiative in presenting a solution,” Abe said.
Abe urged Moon to swiftly address the issue, which stems from South Korean court rulings.
The court has asked Japanese firms to pay compensation for forced wartime labor during the 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
Abe and Moon shook hands and smiled too before initiating the 45-minute meeting, that went on 15 minutes more than the planned 30 minutes in China.
Moon hinted that the two nations were closest neighbors and were not in a relationship that could set two apart even during the odd times.
“Japan and South Korea are historically and culturally the closest neighbors. We are not in a relationship that can set the two apart even when there is some discomfort for a while,” said Moon
According to Indo-Asia affairs experts, the sign of positive developments between the two nations was being flagged since last month when South Korea made a last-minute decision to maintain an intelligence-sharing deal with Japan.
Japan to off late on Friday relaxed some export restrictions against South Korea allowing Japanese companies to initiate delivery of select component crucial for making semiconductors. South companies like Samsung were among the biggest hit due to export restrictions.
