Maroc - EURASIAREVIEW.COM - A la une - 08/Sep 23:24

Japan-South Korea: Kishida-Yoon Final Summit Major Takeaways – Analysis

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Seoul on 6-7 September 2024 for a summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. It was a farewell summit that Yoon was holding since Kishida had already announced not to contest the LDP presidential race scheduled to be held on 27 September 2024 and not to seek re-election. Meeting at the presidential office, the two leaders reviewed progress on their efforts to step up cooperation between the two countries and discussed ways to deepen their partnership ahead of Kishida’s resignation late this month. They reaffirmed their commitments to strengthening bilateral partnerships that will continue beyond Kishida’s term. The 6th September summit, which lasted for 100 minutes, was the 12th in-person meeting between the two leaders. The significance of the summit can be measured from the fact that during the tenures of Yoon and Kishida in their respective offices, both made successful efforts to repair the frosty ties that had bedevilled bilateral relationships during the most period of post-War years. The year 2025 shall mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties. Both Kishida and Yoon agreed to make it easier for their citizens to enter each other’s country. The two leaders signed an agreement to cooperate in rescuing citizens from conflict zones from third countries during emergencies. In October 2023, 51 Japanese citizens were evacuated from Israel by Korea’s military transport plane amid the Hamas conflict. The mutual cooperation document on emergency evacuation is the first that Tokyo has signed with another country. It pledges that both the countries shall share information through consultations of senior government officials roughly once in a year, even in peacetime. The two countries will work closely together when the situation in a third country worsens to the point where their citizens need to be evacuated. Kishida expressed gratitude for the Korean government's cooperation in Tokyo's bid to inscribe the Sado mines on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The controversial wartime site, where Koreans were forced to work during Japan's colonial rule, was added to the UNESCO list in July with the Korean government's consent. The bonhomie between the two leaders continued over dinner hosted by Yoon and attended by first lady Kim Keon Hee and her Japanese counterpart Yuko Kishida. News The two leaders met with Korean and Japanese exchange students at Seoul National University, Yoon's alma mater. In fact Kishida’s trip was arranged at Japan's request, as he expressed a willingness to meet Yoon, before he leaves office soon. In an appreciable policy approach of good-neighbourliness in the interests of regional peace and stability, Kishida despite his sluggish approval ratings and political scandals at home, prioritised normalization of ties with South Korea as a major accomplishment of his administration. After Kishida leaves the scene, his visit and repairing ties with Seoul shall continue to be highlighted as a landmark of his legacy. On his part, Yoon too was forthcoming in choosing a forward-looking foreign policy approach and used diplomacy as a cornerstone of his support base. The summit was seen thus as an opportunity to champion his efforts to mend frayed relations and sustain the partnership despite the upcoming leadership change in Tokyo. Owing to Yoon’s open-door policy approach, Korea-Japan bilateral relations saw significant improvement after being strained in recent years due to historical grievances. Japan-South Korea relations plummeted to a postwar low after South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to pay reparations to Korean labourers in Japan during World War II. In March 2023, the Yoon administration took a bold decision to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labour with government funds without requiring contributions from the responsible Japanese firms. A foundation was formed under the South Korean government to handle the payment of damages issue to resolve the issue. This marked the start of this thawing in relations and markedly improved relations. That decision led to a breakthrough summit later that month, when Yoon visited Tokyo for a summit with Kishida. It was the first time in 12 years that a Korean president visited Japan for a summit. The two leaders since developed a rapport through a dozen meetings held separately or on the sidelines of multinational events. The restored ties between the Asian neighbours also significantly bolstered trilateral security cooperation with the United States in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Both the leaders discussed responses to military collaboration between North Korea and Russia and agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as their partnership with the United States. At home, Yoon did not have a smooth ride as his administration's policy toward Japan, which involved making significant concessions on contentious issues, evoked significant domestic criticism and attacks from the opposition parties. Even during when Kishida was in Seoul, environmental activists held a rally at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, criticizing Kishida's visit to Seoul and demanding the Japanese government to halt the release of Fukushima wastewater that started on 25 August 2023. Several liberal civic groups organized rallies across Seoul ahead of Kishida's visit, denouncing it as a "farewell party funded by taxpayers' money." Yoon was criticised for kneeling down to Japan and was reminded of the fate past leaders who went against history. It suggests that the shadow of history continues to remain in the people’s imagination and erupts again in any given opportunity. Many in South Korea continue to believe Japan has not done enough to atone for its occupation, which included forced labour and other abuses. Japan says the issues were resolved by a treaty that normalised relations in 1965, but some South Korean governments and court rulings have disputed that. In contrast, the ruling People Power Party praised the summit, expressing optimism that Kishida's visit will serve as a cornerstone for further strengthening bilateral relations. Yoon’s supporters felt that Kishida’s visit shall serve as an opportunity for Japan-Korea relations to truly move forward toward a future-oriented partnership. There is another hidden message that Kishida wanted to pass on to his would-be successor. Much of the credit should go the US President Joe Biden who persuaded the leaders of Japan and South Korea to correct bilateral ties that had sunk to their historic low in decades amid acrimonious diplomatic and trade dispute over Japan’s occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. When Japan shall have a new Prime Minister later in September and the US a new President after Biden bowed out following November presidential election, the Japan-Korea partnership shall be tested afresh under new dispensation of leaders in both the countries. Kishida would expect his successor to continue his pro-engagement policy towards South Korea, and so would Biden shall expect the same. But if Kishida’s successor comes under pressure from conservatives to take a harder line, the gains achieved from Kishida’s outreach to South Korea could be lost. That would be the dilemma Kishida’s successor would face. The stronger message that Kishida would probably leave for his successor that in view of the challenges from neighbouring North Korea and China, a strong partnership with South Korea has to be a lasting part of Tokyo’s foreign policy. In 2023, Biden invited Yoon and Kishida to Camp David for a trilateral summit wherein the three leaders committed to deepen military and economic cooperation. That time, the three leaders delivered their strongest joint condemnation of “dangerous and aggressive behaviour” by China in the disputed busy waterway of the South China Sea. The Camp David made a commitment for the continuation of policies if political change happened in any of the three countries as the interests are larger than bilateral. Further to the summit and to keep the momentum going, the Yoon government in a strategic move appointed a new ambassador to Japan. Park Cheol-hee, the new ambassador, is a no ordinary diplomat. Arriving in Tokyo’s Haneda’s airport on 9 August, Park’s appointment was a demonstration of Yoon’s resolve to improving ties with Japan and trilateral cooperation with Japan and the US. The positive aspect of Park’s appointment is that he is one of South Korea’s leading scholars of Japan and he is now tasked with the heavy responsibility of carving out a “new future for South Korea-Japan relations”. Since public approval ratings in South Korea for the Yoon administration remain weak and there is deep-rooted criticism over perceived concessions the administration has made to Japan over bilateral issues, including on the lawsuits over wartime labourers who were conscripted to work for Japanese companies and the inscription of Japan’s “Sado Island Gold Mines”, where many wartime Korean labourers toiled, on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. Against this background, taking anyfuture-oriented steps must be far from easy for the new ambassador.