History of Japan–Korea relations

See also: Japan–Korea disputes

Korea-Japan relations or Japan–Korea relations

Japan	North Korea	South Korea

In a modern context, Japan–Korea relations pertain to three states: Japan, North Korea, and South Korea. Japan and Korea have had cultural interactions for over a thousand years and direct political contact almost as long. In modern times Japan’s relations with North and South Korea have had a legacy of bitterness stemming from unresolved issues relating to Imperial Japan’s rule of Korea from 1910–1945.

Diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea were established in 1965. In the early 2000s, the Japanese–South Korean relationship soured when the Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine. Conflict continues over claims to the Liancourt Rocks, a group of small islets halfway between the two countries.

Bilaterally and through the Six-Party Talks, North Korea and Japan continue to discuss Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea during the 1970s and 1980s, although there are no diplomatic relations.

Historical background

Further information: [[:History of Japan#Yayoi period|History of Japan § Yayoi period]], and [[:History of Korea]]

Relations between Japan and Korea go back at least two millennia. Chinese culture, including writing, migrated from China via Korea to Japan in these early years. And burial mounds of Korea built in the 5th and 6th centuries may have influenced by the kofun of Japan.. There are indications of cross-border political influence, but with varying accounts as to which direction the political influence flowed.

By the time of the Three Kingdoms period in Korea there were emissaries sent by Japan to the Korean kingdoms and vice versa. In addition, there have been some interactions between the Korean and Japanese royal families; According to the Shoku Nihongi (続日本紀?), Emperor Kammu's mother, Takano no Niigasa, was a 10th generation descendant of King Muryeong of Baekje.

From the early 13th–15th centuries there were a series of skirmishes by pockets of Japanese pirates on the Korean coast. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), many Korean cultural heritages and technologies were destroyed and looted by the invading Japanese armies. Although Korean land forces lost most of their land battles (with only a handful of notable exceptions), many decisive defeats of the Japanese fleet by Admiral Yi Sun-sin (who never lost a battle; the only battle Korean fleets lost to the Japanese was not commanded by Admiral Yi) cut off Japanese supply lines and helped drive the invading forces out of Korea.

With the erosion of Qing Chinese influences in the 19th century, Korea began to show greater independence, partly to avoid Western domination, but also to avoid Japanese control. Japan was rapidly modernizing in the second half of the 19th century and showing a keen interest in Korea, especially as it was the closest potential point of expansion directly on the Asian mainland. With the defeat of Qing forces in Korea in 1895, the murder of Empress Myeongseong by Japanese agents, and Japan’s subsequent defeat of Imperial Russia in 1905, Korea came firmly under Japanese influence. In 1910, with the signing of the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, the last threads of Korean independence were severed and the Korean Empire was absorbed into the Empire of Japan.

The Japanese Empire enforced policies aimed at the Japanization of the Korean people. Attempts to resist Japanese rule, such as the peaceful March 1st Movement, were brutally put down. More than a million Koreans would end up living in Japan, and many of their descendants live there to this day. Likewise, up to a million Japanese colonists moved to Korea.

At the end of World War II Korea regained its independence after 35 years of Japanese rule. Per the Yalta Conference agreements, Soviet forces accepted surrender of Japanese forces in northern Korea above the 38th parallel, and U.S. forces south of that line. Korea was then divided into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) spheres.

The diplomatic relationship between Japan and South Korea was established in 1965, when the Treaty on Basic Relations was signed; Japan subsequently recognized the Republic of Korea (the official name of South Korea) as the only legitimate government on the Korean Peninsula. As such, North Korea does not have official diplomatic ties with Japan.

Japan–North Korea

Japan-North Korea relations turned more antagonistic in the late 1980s. The two governments did not maintain diplomatic relations and had no substantive contacts. The opposition Japan Socialist Party nonetheless had cordial relations with the North Korean regime. Japan allowed trade with North Korea only through unofficial channels, reportedly exceeding US$200 million annually in the 1980s.

Issues in Japan-North relations that produced tensions included North Korean media attacks on Japan, Japan's imposition of economic sanctions on North Korea for terrorist acts against South Korea in the 1980s, and unpaid North Korean debts to Japanese enterprises of about $50 million.

Until the late 1980s, North Korea's post-World War II policy toward Japan was mainly aimed at minimizing cooperation between South Korea and Japan, and at deterring Japan's rearmament while striving for closer diplomatic and commercial ties with Japan. Crucial to this policy was the fostering within Japan of support for North Korea, especially among the Japanese who supported the Japanese communist and socialist parties and the Korean residents of Japan.

Over the years, however, North Korea did much to discredit itself in the eyes of many potential supporters in Japan. Japanese who had accompanied their spouses to North Korea had endured severe hardships and were prevented from communicating with relatives and friends in Japan. Japan watched with disdain as North Korea gave safe haven to elements of the Japanese Red Army, which Japan designates as a terrorist group. North Korea's inability or refusal to pay its debts to Japanese traders also reinforced popular Japanese disdain for North Korea.

Normalization talks

In the early 1990s, Japan conducted lengthy negotiations with North Korea aimed at establishing diplomatic relations while maintaining its relations with Seoul. In January 1991, Japan began normalization talks with Pyongyang with a formal apology for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The negotiations were aided by Tokyo's support of a proposal for simultaneous entry into the United Nations by North Korea and South Korea; the issues of international inspection of North Korean nuclear facilities and the nature and amount of Japanese compensations, however, proved more difficult to negotiate.

Coincidental with the changing patterns in its relations with China and Russia, North Korea has moved to improve its strained relations with Japan. Pyongyang's primary motives appear to be a quest for relief from diplomatic and economic isolation, which has caused serious shortages of food, energy, and hard currency. Normalization of relations with Japan also raises the possibility of North Korea's gaining monetary compensation for the period of Japan's colonial rule (1910–45), a precedent set when Japan normalized relations with South Korea.

The first round of normalization talks was held January 30–31, 1991, but quickly broke down over the question of compensation. Pyongyang has demanded compensation for damages incurred during colonial rule as well as for "sufferings and losses" in the post-World War II period. Japan, however, insists that North Korea first resolve its differences with South Korea over the question of bilateral nuclear inspections. Other points of contention are North Korea's refusal both to provide information about Japanese citizens who had migrated to North Korea with their Korean spouses in the 1960s, and the issue of Japanese soldiers taken prisoner by the Soviets during WWII and sent to North Korea.

Abductions

The abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government occurred during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. For many years the North denied the abductions, but it admitted to 13 of them in 2002. In one instance, Yi Un Hee, a Korean resident of Japan, was kidnapped to North Korea to teach Japanese in a school for espionage agents. In 2002 and 2004, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made two high-profile visits to Pyongyang to press for their return. North Korea eventually returned five of the thirteen kidnapped, claiming the other eight had died. The positive effect on relations disintegrated when Japan claimed that a DNA test had proved that the returned remains of Megumi Yokota, kidnapped at 13 and said by the North to have committed suicide, were in fact not hers. Japan has pressed North Korea to come clean on the abduction, but Pyongyang insists that the issue has already been resolved.

Many North Korean citizens rely on money sent from relatives in Japan. Some in Japan believe that the government should threaten to cut off those remittances to force Pyongyang to make concessions. Others believe that the political right in Japan is exploiting that and other issues to advance its own nationalist agenda.

Other activity

There have also been several confrontations between the two nations over North Korean clandestine activity within Japan besides the abductions including drug smuggling, marine poaching, as well as spying. North Korean missile tests are also a concern for Japan because the missiles sometimes travel through Japanese airspace and territory.

On March 14th, 2011, 3 Japanese citizens had visited Rasŏn and later 2 of them were incarcerated for drug and counterfeit currency possessions.

Six-party talks

On February 13, 2007, the six-party talks produced an agreement in which North Korea agreed to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility in exchange for fuel aid and steps towards normalization of relations with both the United States and Japan.

Recent bilateral talks

The two states held bilateral talks in September 2007, which were resumed in June 2008.

Japan–South Korea

Article 9 of Japan's constitution is interpreted to bar Japan from entering into security relations with countries other than the United States. Consequently, Japan had no substantive defense relationship with South Korea, and military contacts were infrequent. However, Japan backed United States contingency plans to dispatch United States armed forces in Japan to South Korea in case of a North Korean attack on South Korea. It also supported the opening of relations between South Korea and China in the 1980s. Since the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, Japan has recognized South Korea as the only legitimate government of the whole Korean peninsula.

Since normalizing relations at the urging of the United States in 1965, Seoul and Tokyo have held annual foreign ministerial conferences. The usual issues discussed have been trade, the status of the Korean minority population in Japan, the content of textbooks dealing with the relationship, Tokyo's equidistant policy between Pyongyang and Seoul, and the occasional problems.

Roh Tae-woo's Nordpolitik somewhat relaxed Seoul's vehement opposition to Tokyo's approach to Pyongyang. The Japan Socialist Party, in particular, has become active in improving relations not only between Pyongyang and Tokyo, but also between itself and Seoul. As the Japan Socialist Party abandoned its posture favoring Pyongyang, Seoul has welcomed the new equidistant policy, inviting a former secretary general of the Japan Socialist Party, Masashi Ishibashi, to Seoul in October 1988. Ishibashi's visit was unusually productive, not only in improving his party's image in Seoul, but also in his reported willingness to mediate between Seoul and Pyongyang. While Tokyo appeared willing to assist Seoul in improving relations not only with Pyongyang but also with Beijing, it did not seem to welcome the much-improved Seoul-Moscow relationship. Further, Seoul-Tokyo relations became somewhat strained when in 1989 Tokyo began steps to improve relations with Pyongyang.

Japan's trade with South Korea was US$29.1 billion in 1991, with a surplus of nearly US$5.8 billion on the Japanese side. Japanese direct private investment in South Korea totaled US$4.4 billion in 1990. Japanese and South Korean firms often had interdependent relations, which gave Japan advantages in South Korea's growing market. Many South Korean products were based on Japanese design and technology. A surge in imports of South Korean products into Japan in 1990 was partly the result of production by Japanese investors in South Korea.

In 1996 FIFA announced that the two countries would jointly host the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The next few years would see leaders of both countries meet to warm relations in preparations for the games. Though citizens of both countries were initially unhappy about having to share the honors with the other, and the Liancourt Rocks controversy flared up again, it turned out to be very successful.

The year 2005 was designated as the "Japan-South Korea Friendship Year". However, the Liancourt Rocks controversy erupted again when Japan's Shimane prefecture declared "Takeshima Day", inciting mass demonstrations in South Korea.

A joint bi-national survey released by Asahi Shimbun on November 26th, 1984 showed that a 34% of Japanese at that time had a lack of interest on South Korea.

Cultural exchange

From South Korea to Japan

In recent years, South Korean pop culture experienced major popularity in Japan, a phenomenon dubbed the "Korean wave" (韓流) in Japan. The Korean Wave has sparked a fad for Korean movies, dramas and pop music in Japan.

A Korean television series entitled Winter Sonata, which first appeared in Japan in April 2003, became a runaway hit in Japan, and has often been identified as a landmark in Korean-Japanese cultural exchange. The female K-pop artist BoA is one of the most popular singers in Japan with six consecutive albums topping the billboard charts.

In more recent years various K-pop artists, including, Super Junior, TVXQ, Choshinsung, Big Bang, Kara, Girls' Generation, and 2pm, have made their debuts in Japan, and these groups have contributed to the rebirth of the Korean wave in Japan. Kara and Girls' Generation in particular has been topping numerous charts and awards in Japan. Numerous other groups, such as F.T. Island, SHINee and BEAST have also entered the Japanese market.

From Japan to South Korea

After the end of World War II, South Korea banned "Japanese cultural imports" such as music, film, video games, literature (manga). In South Korea, the ban was partially lifted under the Kim Dae-jung administration in 1998. In January 2004, the ban on imports of Japanese CDs and DVDs was finally lifted in South Korea. Despite this, there were some South Korean DVD imports of movies that were identical to Japanese DVDs sold from 1999 to 2003.

Korean drama production companies have sought to secure the rights to Japanese novels (manga). In the film industry, movies based on Japanese works have begun to appear. Hayao Miyazaki's anime film Howl's Moving Castle drew 3,000,000 viewers in the South Korean market.

See also

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• Foreign relations of Japan
• Foreign relations of North Korea
  • Timeline of Japan-North Korea relations
• Foreign relations of South Korea
  • Timeline of Japan-South Korea relations
• Treaty on Basic Relations between South Korea and Japan
• Japan–Korea disputes
• Japan-Korea Undersea Tunnel
• China-Japan-South Korea trilateral meeting, 2008
• Zaitokukai

References

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  - Japan

Further reading

• Cha, Victor D. (1999). Alignment despite Antagonism: the US-Korea-Japan Security Triangle (Stanford: Stanford University Press).
• Dudden, Alexis (2008). Troubled Apologies Among Japan, Korea, and the United States (New York: Columbia University Press)
• Lee, Chong-Sik (1985). Japan and Korea: The Political Dimension (Stanford: Stanford University Press).
• Lee, Chong-Sik (1963). The Politics of Korean Nationalism (Berkeley: University of California Press).
• Lind, Jennifer (2008). Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics (Ithaca: Cornell University Press).
• Meyers, Ramon Hawley, et al. (1984). The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945 (Princeton: Princeton University Press).
• Morley, James (1965). Japan and Korea (New York: Walker, 1965).

External links

• South Korean embassy in Japan
• Japanese embassy in South Korea
• Relations entre la Corée du Nord et le Japon - French Wikipedia
• Korean History: A Bibliography: Ancient Korean-Japanese relations
  • Chosŏn: Relations with Japan
  • Late 19th Century through 1945: Post-1868 Relations with Japan and China
  • Post-Liberation Relations with Japan