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Will security concerns over China, North Korea push Japan, South Korea to resolve wartime labour dispute?
- Seoul has outlined plans to utilise the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilisation by Imperial Japan to compensate victims
- Japan has kept out of the domestic debate in South Korea but is keen to strengthen defence ties with Seoul given concerns over China, North Korea
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Julian Ryallin Tokyo
Japan and South Korea agreed on Friday to continue close communication in a bid to resolve a dispute over wartime labour, according to the Japanese government, a day after Seoul suggested a solution to the issue, which has worsened bilateral ties.
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Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his South Korean counterpart Park Jin pledged to restore healthy bilateral relations and further develop them by resolving the pending issue, when they spoke over the phone, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
Tokyo has kept a low profile as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol struggled to win over former forced labourers who were put to work by Japanese corporations, their supporters and opposition politicians of the merits of a compensation plan.
Japan has kept out of the domestic debate in South Korea, over concern that any intervention would be perceived as interference and further weaken Yoon’s hand. But there is little doubt that Tokyo hopes to draw a line on an issue that has dogged relations for decades and accounted for all-time low bilateral ties.
Analysts point out that given the worsening security climate in northeast Asia – primarily the challenges posed by an expansionist China and an unpredictable and nuclear-armed North Korea – Tokyo is keen to develop closer defence links with Seoul. Before that can happen, however, the two nations’ shared history needs to be resolved.
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