Tokyo praises improved relations with Seoul under Yoon presidency

Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, attends a press conference in this file photo. [EPA/YONHAP]

The Japanese government said Thursday that since President Yoon Suk Yeol took office, dialogue and cooperation between South Korea and Japan have expanded enormously in both quality and quantity in various fields, including politics, security, economy and culture.

“Since last year, shuttle diplomacy between the two countries' leaders has resumed under the leadership of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Yoon,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference held in Tokyo on Thursday.

Hayashi was responding to a question about improved bilateral relations in the two years since Yoon took office.

“South Korea and Japan are important neighboring countries that must cooperate as partners to address various challenges in the international community,” Hayashi emphasized. “Under the current strategic environment, cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan is also progressing at multiple levels. I think such expansion of cooperation is meaningful for both South Korea and Japan.”

Hayashi added that Japan “will continue to communicate closely and respond with South Korea to ensure that cooperation between the two countries becomes more solid and broader in a way that benefits the people of both countries.”

In response to questions about historical issues such as the Sado gold mines' World Heritage listing, Hayashi said that Japan is “making efforts to have the mines’ excellent value as a cultural heritage appreciated as a World Heritage” and will pursue “sincere and respectful discussions with South Korea” regarding the matter.

South Korea strongly opposes the Sado gold mines' World Heritage listing because approximately 1,500 Koreans were forcibly mobilized for labor at the mines starting in 1939.

In pushing for the mines to be named a World Heritage site, Japan has designated the heritage timeline for the mines as between the 16th and 19th centuries, drawing criticism that it is trying to circumvent the forced labor issue.

Meanwhile, President Yoon said during a press conference on Thursday marking two years in office that “Prime Minister Kishida and I have sufficient trust in each other and are fully prepared to advance the relationship between our two countries.”

“In South Korea-Japan relations, there is a clear difference in the positions of the people of the two countries regarding history and current issues,” Yoon said. “We need to think about what to do for the future of both countries and future generations.”

“I think we need to cooperate for our future, specifically to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons and for economic cooperation between the two countries, and to secure leadership for the common agenda of South Korea and Japan in the Indo-Pacific region and the global community,” continued Yoon. “Many pending issues or history may become obstacles, but I think we must have a firm goal orientation and persevere in the direction we need to go.”

South Korea-Japan relations have thawed significantly during the Yoon administration.

However, the opposition Democratic Party and parts of the public argue that South Korea has gained nothing from improved relations, as territorial disputes regarding the easternmost Dokdo islets and Japan’s obstruction of facts about the colonial period in history textbooks continue.

Recently, the Japanese government’s request for Line Yahoo to reduce Korean company Naver’s control over the widely used messenger app Line in Japan has led to further criticism that Yoon’s Japan policy has yielded little fruit.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]