(The original article in Japanese was posted on March 10, 2023)

On March 6, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced a final plan to have a South Korean government-affiliated foundation pay compensation to the former wartime requisitioned workers in place of Japanese companies to settle the pending issue of wartime labor compensation, while on the other hand, the Japanese government showed a positive response to the plan and confirmed that it would inherit the “deep remorse and heartfelt apology” expressed by previous administrations. Subsequently, the South Korean government announced normalization of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) though the former Korean administration once notified Japan of the termination of the security agreement in 2019. At the same time, the two governments agreed to hold a summit in Japan in the middle of this month.  

However, Japan’s concerns over the wartime labor compensation issue will not completely be eliminated in light of the aftereffects of the comfort women issue. Besides, a strong backlash may be provoked in South Korea as it is predicted. Despite all of that, it reflects the difficult domestic economic situation of both countries, not to mention the rising geopolitical risks, that President Yoon made his "determination" to give priority to international law over South Korean Supreme Court rulings and that the Japanese government took a proactive response toward the possible settlement of the issue. According to the January 2023 World Economic Outlook released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global growth rate is estimated to be +2.9%, while the growth rate of Japan and South Korea are +1.8% and +1.7%, respectively, both showing more than one percent below average. In short, the two countries face in the same direction to pursue the “national interest” in terms of national security and economy.

While fending off objections and criticism sparked domestically and making the current resolution truly an irreversible deal, some tangible "results" are essentially wanted. Accordingly, Japan announced lifting of tightened controls on exports to South Korea as the control measures had caused the breakup of GSOMIA. Correspondingly, South Korea expressed the suspension of the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution process. Normalization in the economic field will definitely make a significant progress. Now, creation of future-oriented results based on stable and bilateral relations is eagerly expected.

However, the proposed resolution of the issue is not intended to separate the future from the past. As you know, it takes an enormous length of time before the collective "memory" shared by those who claim to have been victimized is finally recognized in an objective perspective in the flow of history, while on the contrary, "memories" may be updated with the times by changes in values and political positioning. Incidentally, we have realized some "historic issues" re-acknowledged with a release of formal messages for the past year or two including the following cases: the Dutch Prime Minister apologized for the Netherlands’ involvement in the slave trade; the Belgian king expressed “deepest regrets” to Congo for his country’s colonial abuses; Germany officially recognized its moral responsibility and apologized to Namibia for the crimes committed during its colonial rule 100 years ago; and the California state legislature formally apologized for holding Japanese Americans in internment camps. Undoubtedly, each of these issues has its specific background. This is why we still need to learn sincerely from the past history no matter how each historical event has been finally solved or updated. The year 1910 is still not too far away to wash out.

This Week’s Focus, March 10

Takashi Mizukoshi, the President