The preparations for the first in-person meeting between Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in scheduled to take place on Friday were stalled as controversy erupted over comments made by a senior Japanese diplomat last week. The meeting would have coincided with the beginning of the Tokyo Olympics.
On Monday, President Moon’s office said, “It is still uncertain whether a visit to Japan and a meeting will take place as there has been no satisfactory action taken by the Japanese side over the last-minute obstacle to a (summit) meeting.” Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported that the leaders were likely to discuss issues that have strained relations over generations, including compensation for people forced to work in Japanese firms and military brothels during Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
Meanwhile, the Japanese Ambassador to Korea, Koichi Aiboshi, identified the diplomat concerned as the deputy chief of Japan’s mission in Korea, Hirohisa Soma. Soma ridiculed the South Korean President by saying that Moon was “masturbating” while describing his desire to meet the Japanese PM to improve bilateral relations, which are currently at a low point. Moreover, the DW report mentioned the diplomat saying that Japan has “no space to pay attention to Seoul-Tokyo relations” at the moment and that the Korean leader was in a “tug of war only with himself.” A reporter of the South Korean cable network JTBC said the comments were made during a casual meeting and not a public address.
Aiboshi criticised the remarks as “highly inappropriate” and revealed that he had “sternly warned” Soma. “While it is true that such terms were used during the conversation, it was not directed at President Moon,” Aiboshi clarified in a statement. Channel News Asia cited Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Katsunobu Kato, telling a regular briefing that “the remarks were inappropriate as a diplomat.” “We think it is very regrettable,” said.
In response to the “undiplomatic” remarks, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Japanese ambassador on Saturday. South Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Choi Jong-Kun told Aiboshi during their meeting that such comments “seriously denigrate” efforts to restore ties and that “appropriate action should be taken.”
Japan’s relations with South Korea have been tense in recent times. Earlier this month, PM Suga said that the ties were “very difficult,” and remarked that it was up to Seoul to respond to the problems. In February, a white paper published by South Korea’s Defence Ministry “downgraded” Japan’s status from “partner” to “neighbour,” signalling the deteriorating ties between the two countries. The paper also blamed Japan for “stalemating ties” with South Korea by making “unilateral announcements misrepresenting facts.” It was a reference to Japan’s disputed claim to the South Korea-controlled Dokdo Islands (called Takeshima Islands by Japan) in the Sea of Japan and a military encounter between a Japanese surveillance plane and a South Korean vessel in December 2018, when Japan accused South Korea of violating the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea by aiming the vessel’s fire-control radar at a plane.
Apart from this, the relations have also remained strained due to Japan’s history of sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II. While PM Suga expressed hope of reconciliation in a letter addressed to President Moon last year, the latest comments are bound to make it challenging to achieve the goal.
What to Expect: Japan-South Korea Leaders’ Meet
The first in-person meeting between Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, scheduled to be held on Friday, is “uncertain” following remarks made by a Japanese diplomat.
July 19, 2021
SOURCE: REUTERS and MASAYUKI TERAZAWA