October 2012

Japan Center for International Exchange

Japan-ROK Relations: Defusing Tensions
to Build a Regional Partnership
Hitoshi Tanaka, Senior Fellow, JCIE

Japan–South Korea relations have suffered analarming setback since South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak visited the disputed Takeshima Islets(known in Korea as the Dokdo Islets) in August andwent on to further aggravate tensions by criticizing theJapanese emperor. The Japanese government reacted
quickly, criticizing Lee’s visit, recalling its ambassador
to Seoul, proposing the Takeshima case be taken to theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ), and threatening
economic counter-measures such as refusing to extend
a bilateral currency swap arrangement. The heightened
tensions have also reopened historical wounds, particularly regarding the comfort women issue.
In order to address the diplomatic fallout, the bilateral relationship must be reframed in such a way thatshared interests and cooperation, not history and territorial disputes, take center stage. Leaders in both countries need to recalibrate and emphasize the importanceof Japan–South Korea cooperation, not only for thesake of the two countries themselves but also for theregion as a whole.

The Japan-ROK Perception Gap
The intensity of the current tensions is attributable todomestic politicking and the emergence of a perception gap between the two countries in how to approach
the bilateral relationship. In South Korea, Japan continues to be framed as an aggressor nation that should be
more aware of its past crimes. For ROK politicians, emphasizing Japan’s past and connecting it to Japan’s claim
over Takeshima has become a convenient mechanism
to exploit nationalism and divert voters’ attention frompolicy shortcomings.
Japan, on the other hand, has generally maintained alow-key approach in its East Asian foreign policy since
the end of the war out of consideration of its history ofaggression in the region. But in recent years, Japan has
come to see South Korea as a partner, not a country
to be tiptoed around. South Korea has democratizedand developed into the world’s 15th largest economy.
And Japan-ROK cooperation has progressed significantly, with Japan’s financial support for South Korea
under the Miyazawa Plan during the Asian financial

crisis, the co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, therise of bilateral trade, and the popularity of Korean TV
dramas and K-pop music in Japan. But despite thissense of partnership, the inflammatory nature of Lee’s
Takeshima visit has intensified public pressure andpushed the Noda administration to hold firm.

agreement, the Japanese and ROK governments agreed
to resolve disputes through diplomatic negotiations
or—when a resolution could not be negotiated—to refer disputes to an outside mediator. However, to thisday the South Korean government denies that the issue
is a “dispute” and has refused all proposals to take thecase to the ICJ.

The Takeshima Dispute
Reconciling History and the Comfort
Women Issue

Disagreement over the historical facts relating to thesovereignty of the Takeshima Islets has made it a sensitive national issue for both Japan and South Korea. Inorder to work over the long term toward a resolutionthat is acceptable to both countries, Japan and South
Korea need to analyze the dispute in a calm and objective manner.
First, there is still a dispute over which country held
the islets first. The 1905 Japanese cabinet decision to incorporate Takeshima into Japan’s Shimane Prefectureis viewed by Koreans as a prelude to Japan’s colonial
takeover. Japan, on the other hand, asserts that it had
been using the islets since the 17th century and the cabinet decision was merely a reconfirmation of its existing sovereignty over the area.
Second, after World War II the Allied Powers effectively decided that Takeshima was a Japanese territory
under international law by not including it in the San
Francisco Peace Treaty as territory that Japan, having
been defeated, should surrender. The ROK government, unable to persuade the Allied Powers to reconsider, took matters into its own hands. The governmentof Syngman Rhee, the first president of South Korea,
unilaterally established the Rhee Line to demarcate
the country’s maritime territory in 1952 after the San
Francisco Peace Treaty was signed but three months
before it came into effect. The ROK government maintained the Rhee Line until 1965, during which time
it arrested more than 3,000 Japanese fisherman, put
hundreds of them in jail, and seized more than 300
Japanese ships. Five Japanese fishermen were killed in
the vicinity of the islets.
In the end, the Rhee Line was dissolved in 1965 uponnormalization of diplomatic relations between Japanand South Korea, but Takeshima is still effectively controlled by South Korea. As part of the normalization
EAST ASIA INSIGHTS

The comfort women issue is also sensitive for both
Japan and South Korea and still plagues relations due
to a lack of understanding of Japan’s specific measures
to resolve the issue.
The issue gained national attention in both countries during the 1990s as the end of the Cold War
allowed progressive historians to assume greater
prominence. As such, the Japanese government initiated a study on the issue, and the findings, along with
the Japanese government’s official position, were announced in 1993 by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei
Kono. The watershed Kono Statement provides officialJapanese government recognition of the involvementof the Japanese military in the widespread operationof brothels for Japanese soldiers. Moreover, Kono extended, on behalf of the government of Japan, sincere
apologies and remorse to the comfort women. Every
Japanese administration since has upheld the Kono
Statement as the official government position.
Japan has settled all legal claims between the twocountries, conducting its postwar foreign policy andrelations with South Korea based on the 1952 San
Francisco Peace Treaty and the 1965 Treaty on Basic
Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea. As
part of the 1965 agreement, the Japanese government
provided the South Korean government with US$500
million in economic assistance (US$300 million in
grants and US$200 million in soft government loans).
Despite having met its legal obligation, Japan decided to treat the comfort women issue from a moral
perspective as a special case. In an attempt to promote
friendly relations and heal the scars of the past, theJapanese government helped to establish the Asian
Women’s Fund (AWF) in 1995. The AWF solicited
2October 2012

donations from the Japanese public, which were usedto provide former comfort women with 2 million yeneach. The money was given along with letters of apology, which were signed by four successive Japaneseprime ministers starting with Prime Minister Ryutaro
Hashimoto. Moreover, the Japanese government provided funding for AWF projects, which, among otherthings, provided funding for medical care for the former comfort women.

support is essential. To this end, Japan–South Korea
cooperation is vital and should be enhanced throughmultiple measures, including the proposed General
Security of Military Information Agreement.
Third, it is crucial that history and territorial issues
be prevented from spilling over and affecting substantive areas of cooperation. In particular, after President
Lee Myung-bak’s term ends, the new president would
do well to take steps to restore positive relations between the two countries.
Finally, in order to achieve the above points it isnecessary to improve the channels of communication across all levels of the bilateral relationship.
Communication needs to be open and frank but also
constructive so that Japan and South Korea may develop a deeper mutual understanding and work together most effectively to build a brighter East Asia.

Mending Japan-ROK Relations and Building
a Regional Partnership
In order to mitigate the impact of the diplomatic fallout, Japan and South Korea should keep the following
four points in mind.
First, territorial and historical disputes are difficult
issues that require a long-term commitment from bothsides to work toward resolutions. In the meantime, it is
crucial that everyone remain aware of the inflammatory nature of the issues and avoid unnecessarily politicizing them in antagonistic and nationalistic ways.
Second, the stakes of cooperation between Japanand South Korea are high. As industrialized democracies, Japan and South Korea have important roles toplay as regional leaders. This is especially crucial rightnow given the shifting balance of power in the region
and the need for Japan and South Korea to jointly cooperate with China to direct the evolution of the regional order toward stability and prosperity. Moreover,Japan–South Korea cooperation is necessary for robust contingency planning vis-à-vis North Korea. UStroops based in Japan are likely to be involved in any
contingency plan for a major crisis in North Korea, andJapan’s role of providing the United States with rear◆ ◆ ◆Resolving the territorial dispute surrounding theTakeshima Islets will remain difficult, but the current
political impasse needs to be dealt with in a calm, constructive manner so that Japan and South Korea cancontinue to address other challenges facing the region.
Open channels of communication and efforts to build
trust and mutual respect at all levels are vital to achieving this goal and require strong commitment fromboth sides. Both countries will benefit in the end if
shared interests are able to trump historical animosity.
Hitoshi Tanaka is a senior fellow at JCIE and chairmanof the Institute for International Strategy at the Japan
Research Institute. He ­previously served as Japan’s deputy minister for f­oreign affairs.

East Asia Insights
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from the Japanese perspective.
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October 2012