[Column] Perfect timing to normalize ties with Tokyo

Choi Hoon
The author is the chief editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, intensifying the Cold War between the United States and China, and persistent provocations from North Korea have built up a perilous climate in East Asia. They are all too overwhelming for South Korea to cope with alone. On the North Korean nuclear threat, there does not appear to be a better option than the “strategic patience” legacy cherished by the U.S. government from Barack Obama to Joe Biden. It took nearly 69 years for the flag of the monstrous Soviet Union to come down on its own.

The best diplomatic maneuver South Korea can take on its own amid the turbulent international environment is to restore ties with Japan. Why we need to join hands with a country we are still as much pleased to see its national football team fail to make the quarterfinal at the World Cup as having our team ascend to the round of 16 — and why now is the best time to cut the Gordian knot should be explained first.

First of all, there is a sense of urgency in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared the country faces the toughest-ever security environment since World War II. Gone are the days when Moscow and Tokyo cozied up, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meeting 27 times from 2012 to 2020, including the onsen summit in hopes to reach a peaceful treaty on the dispute over the four northern islands in the Pacific.

Putin making nuclear threats to win the war in Ukraine can strike home with Japan — a country with a traumatic memory of atomic bombing and nuclear reactor meltdown — while it is undergoing territorial disputes with Russia. That’s not all. The North Korean ICBMs, which landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone to west of Hokkaido last week, also could be the closest thing to the real threat.

On May 19, Japan hosts the 2023 G7 summit in Hiroshima — the birthplace of Kishda’s father and his political home — to manifest the alliance among the democratic nations in a symbol of security and peace. Whether South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is invited to the summit is being closely watched in diplomatic circles.

A bigger concern for Japan is China. The Nikkei found that 77 percent of the Japanese believe Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will help China consider the option of military attack on Taiwan. Taiwan is just 70 miles away from Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost inhabited island. Japan has already been reinforcing its missile bases in the Nansei Archipelago between Taiwan and Kyushu.

The long-held security strategy of Japan playing the role of shield and the U.S. the spear over the past 77 years is suddenly transforming into a “realistic diplomacy” to meet the challenge of the times. The pacifist country is arming itself to go into war if necessary, with the backing of 65 percent of the population. Defense expenditures will nearly double by 2027 from current levels. National security has become the top priority for Japan. As South Korea is at the forefront of potential confrontation with China and Russia, who would make the perfect security partner for Japan?

Japanese media, which maintained harsh attitude towards South Korea, are also changing their tone. In an editorial on Jan. 20, the Yomiuri Shimbun first accentuated the need for improved ties between Seoul and Tokyo because stronger tripartite cooperation among Japan, the U.S., and South Korea is pivotal to deal with escalating threats from North Korea and China. On Jan. 28, the Nikkei openly supported the Yoon administration’s endeavors to mend ties with Japan. The Asahi Shimbun on Nov. 15 also welcomed the two governments working towards resolving the wartime forced labor issue and urged them to regularize summit talks and make sincere efforts to resolve the North Korean and other issues together.

Washington is most eager to see its two Asian allies reconcile. The tripartite alliance is the strongest deterrence against China’s expansion in East Asia. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken passionately mediated between Seoul and Tokyo as deputy state secretary under Barack Obama, arguing nothing was more important than the Korea-Japan relationship. As a result, senior diplomatic officials of the three countries reached a deal on compensating South Korean victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery after having more than 20 meetings. As vice president in 2013, Biden met with Abe to emphasize the importance of improved Seoul-Tokyo relations. He advised Abe to restrain from paying tribute at the Yasukuni shrine. In an interview with The Atlantic in 2016, Biden, then vice president, said he had acted the role as a “divorce counselor putting a marriage back together,” thanks to his close personal relationship with President Park Geun-hye and Abe.

For South Korea to consolidate its alliance with the U.S., it must improve its relations with Japan, a key member of the tripartite security alliance. South Korea also needs to cooperate with Japan over the supply chains in the field of precision parts, materials and high tech.

The most urgent issue with Japan is to find a satisfactory solution to compensate wartime forced labor. The two governments are discussing the draft outline proposed by Seoul to have a Korean foundation remunerate the plaintiffs first and bring on Japanese companies for their contribution. Seoul must first persuade the victims with sincerity. All possible political channels should be mobilized to convince the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan still negative towards the idea of forcing Japanese companies to contribute to the third-party foundation. The two countries must study how they can help one another with farsightedness. They are surrounded by unprecedented challenges. The alliance of necessity should come before their deep-seated hatred.