Japanese public support Korea delisting: Tokyo

Japanese companies and individuals are overwhelmingly supportive of their country’s measures to delist Korea from the country’s list of trusted trade partners, a report showed Tuesday.

In an online report, the Japanese government said it has gathered more than 40,000 emails from the public on the removal of Seoul from the so-called white list, with more than 95 percent being supportive of the measure.

Tokyo implemented curbs on exports of three key industrial materials to Seoul in early July. Despite strong protest from Korea, Japan officially stripped Asia’s No. 4 economy from its list of nations given preferential trading terms on Aug. 28.

Among the opinions gathered, some claimed that the export restrictions are necessary to protect Japan’s national security, raising questions over Korea’s export control system.

Others raised speculation that South Korea could shift equipment to North Korea, calling for Japan to roll out tougher measures on materials that can be diverted for military purposes, the report showed.

Korea has repeatedly claimed that Japan’s allegations over its export control system are groundless and urged Tokyo to provide evidence backing its allegations.

Seoul believes Tokyo’s economic retaliation stemmed from a Seoul court ruling last year, which ordered Japanese firms to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial rule.

Yonhap