Patience Is a Virtue When It Comes to the South Korea-Japan Relationship

 Since the beginning of President Biden’s term, he has continuously emphasized the importance of allies, such as when he said, “America’s alliances are our greatest asset.” This mentality was manifested in Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s visit to Asia, including South Korea and Japan. As the U.S. views China as a competitor, President Biden might be tempted to dive into reconciling the wrecked South Korea and Japan relation over historical accounts. However, when it comes to mending the relationship between South Korea and Japan, patience is a virtue. It is not advisable for the U.S. to rush into a trilateral cooperation of South Korea-U.S.-Japan to discuss the security of the region, as without a proper mending of the South Korea-Japan relation, the trilateral cooperation will be fruitless.

The main causes of severed bilateral relationship between South Korea and Japan are because of the unresolved comfort women issue, the territorial dispute regarding Dokdo/Takeshima islands, and most recently, Japan’s decision to release Fukushima water into the ocean. The relation between South Korea and Japan has always been turbulent, but the genesis of this most recent, soured relation between these two countries stems from Japan’s decision to eliminate South Korea from Japan’s whitelist and impose “export control on its important electronics sector.”

As old as the shared history between South Korea and Japan, the prolonged and unresolved issue is comfort women (wartime sexual slavery). The South Korean government and the Japanese government have been going back and forth, resulting in subsequent lawsuits filed by Seoul in 2016 and in 2021 as well. However, despite the continuous effort, the South Korean government lost its second lawsuit against the Japanese government. Japan’s argument is that South Korea should not go against the international law whereas South Korea’s argument is that Japan’s wartime sexual crimes against the comfort women have to be properly brought to justice.

The Dokdo/Takeshima islands dispute is another issue that does not seem to end. It is a historical issue with both countries arguing that the island is their property. This island issue remains unresolved but recently brought to light again when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) viewed the Dokdo/Takeshima island as “purely topographical expression" with "no political motivation whatsoever." To make matters worse, another recent issue deepening the divide between South Korea and Japan is Japan’s decision to release treated Fukushima water into the Pacific Ocean. The two countries border the ocean and South Korea strongly opposed this decision,which resulted in rallies and protests throughout the country. Due to citizens’ outrage, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that South Korea will make sure to take part in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring team for Japan’s Fukushima water release.

At the current state, President Moon Jae-in does not seem interested in rebuilding the bridge with Japan. In January 2021, President Moon urged Japan to work swiftly to improve the bilateral relation with a “future-oriented” mind. However, despite his action-oriented words towards Japan, President Moon himself seemingly does not appear to consider Japan as one of his foreign policy priorities.

President Moon is not the only actor whose action is insufficient in improving this soured relationship. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga seems to be conveying messages that the South Korea-Japan bilateral relation is not his first foreign policy priority either. According to Kawashima Shin, the hesitance stems from several reasons. Among those reasons, the most notable include Suga’s distrust in South Korea as he served as chief cabinet secretary during the Abe administration. The Suga administration does not consider it worthy to improve the relationship since there is less than a year left in President Moon’s term.

It is understandable that President Biden wants to expedite the reconciliation process between South Korea and Japan in order to civilly discuss regional threats such as China and North Korea, as they are pushing for currently with a “trilateral defense ministerial talks with Japan.” However, without a properly mended relation between the U.S.’s two major allies, even if a trilateral cooperation were to happen to address issues such as China and North Korea, it will fracture again and only be in the way of addressing the crucial issues. Rather than intervening to play the mediator, as tempting as it may be, and as a common denominator between these two, it would be healthier to let South Korea and Japan resolve their disputes on their own timeline, without U.S. pressure. Through this process, South Korea and Japan will be given the opportunity to truly explore the options and paths to improve their relationship. Considering there is a long-shared and complicated history between South Korea and Japan, it would be challenging to say the least. Thus, patience is a virtue not only for the two parties involved, but also for the United States.