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Professor Lee Motonori talks about the prospects for Japan-Korea relations on the 18th in Seoul
Japan-Korea relations remain cold. In the previous pending contracting litigation, the proceeding to collect the assets of the imputed company will be carried out. On the other hand, the Korean government has been sending high-ranking officials to Japan one after another to seek an improvement in relations. We asked Mr. Lee Motonori, a professor in the Department of Japanese Studies, who specializes in Japan-Korea relations, about his future prospects. (Interviewer, Akihiro Nakamura, photo)
◆ The improvement of relations with Japan is necessary for the progress of the North Korean problem.
-The Korean government is embarking on improving relations.
In November, the former Director of the National Intelligence Service Park Ji and the president of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary Union, Mr. Kim Zhen, visited Japan and met with Prime Minister Kan, which is a sign of the president’s willingness. Wenji to improve relations between Japan and Korea. President Moon looks to North-South relations between Japan and South Korea. In light of the birth of the US Byden administration, he hopes to restart the Korean peninsula peace process by the time of the Tokyo Olympics, but thought that improving relations with Japan was essential to that end.
-The solution to the old hiring demand has not yet been seen.
The best way is for the Korean government or a Korean company to reimburse and pay compensation temporarily, and then exercise the right to reimburse the Japanese party to claim reimbursement. For the Korean government, the decision is said to have been carried out. I don’t think Japanese companies will pay immediately, but they will negotiate diplomatically.
◆ Japan also cooperates in the resolution of the above recruitment lawsuit.
-You need the consent of the plaintiff.
The Korean government has exaggerated the theory of the principle, such as focusing on victims and inability to intervene in the judiciary. This problem is a domestic problem by nature. The Korean government has to persuade the plaintiff. However, I would like Japan to cooperate in creating a solution environment.
-What is your future perspective?
The mayoral elections will be held in Seoul and Busan in April, and Japan will abstain from the Tokyo Olympics. After that, President Moon’s term approaches. By spring, we should try to resolve the above hiring lawsuit. The postponed summit meeting between Japan, China and South Korea will be held in January or February, and the summit meeting between Japan and South Korea will also be held there. If the old demand for recruitment offers a solution, it will be possible to advance the problems of the north and south, Japan and North Korea, and the United States and North Korea caused by the Tokyo Olympics. In any case, first of all, it is necessary for the leaders of Japan and South Korea to make a decision on the old hiring lawsuit.
◆ “The upcoming US Byden administration attaches great importance to the relationship between Japan, the United States and South Korea.”
-How is the Byden administration related to the problems of Japan and South Korea?
Unlike the egocentric Trump administration, it emphasizes the alliance between Japan, the United States, and South Korea. There was a comfort women agreement between Japan and South Korea in 2015 during the Obama administration, but behind that there was pressure from the United States. Even in terms of strategy toward China, the Byden administration will not leave Japan-Korea relations unattended.
-In January next year, a judgment decision will be issued in a former comfort woman lawsuit against the Japanese government.
The sovereignty exemption that Japan asserts that the nation is exempt from overseas lawsuits is an essential element in protecting the international order. There are some concerns in Japan because an unexpected decision was made in the previous hiring lawsuit, but considering common international wisdom, the Japanese government may lose the case. If the case is lost, relations between Japan and Korea would collapse.
