Abe Taking Hardline Stance against South Korea

July 7, 2019

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been stepping up his criticism of South Korea over the issue of wartime labor ahead of the July 21 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.

Japan tightened its controls on exports of semiconductor materials to South Korea on Thursday, arguing that the relationship of trust between the two countries has been significantly undermined by Seoul's handling of the labor issue.

"It has become clear that (South Korea) doesn't fulfill a promise made to another country," Abe said in a televised debate with other Japanese political leaders on Sunday, referring to the wartime labor issue.

"It's natural to think that a promise made over trade control may not be fulfilled," he said, defending Tokyo's tighter controls on semiconductor materials exports to South Korea.

The Japanese measure was taken as apparent retaliation against Seoul over its failure to address South Korean judicial decisions that ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to wartime Korean laborers.

Tokyo takes the position that the wartime labor issue was settled under a 1965 bilateral pact on property and claims.

On Wednesday, Abe reiterated Tokyo's rejection of Seoul's recent proposal that companies from both countries pay for the compensation, saying it is "not something we can accept."

On Thursday, Abe suggested that it would be inevitable that ties between the two countries remain strained. "We would like to see a neighboring country adhere to the norms of the international community to have amicable ties with us," Abe said.

The Japanese measure came as South Korea failed to come up with any effective step to address the labor issue by late last month's Group of 20 summit in Osaka, western Japan.

Abe declined to hold talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, and Tokyo announced the stricter export controls soon after the end of the meeting.

The prime minister apparently thinks that taking a hardline stance against South Korea will help win over voters at a time when less Japanese people have a favorable view of South Korea than before.

The proportion of Japanese people with a favorable view of South Korea fell to an all-time low of 20 pct, according to a recent opinion poll jointly conducted by Japanese and South Korean private think tanks.

Abe's hardline stance was also fueled after Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya came under fire from domestic conservative forces for meeting with his South Korean counterpart in early June, a government source said.

Tensions with South Korea may escalate, as Seoul has hinted that it will take retaliatory measures against the Japanese export controls.

A dispute between the two countries over an incident last December in which a South Korean warship directed its fire-control radar at a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol plane has also yet to be resolved.

On Friday, Tokyo filed a protest with Seoul over the liquidation of a South Korean foundation set up under a bilateral agreement to support former Korean comfort women, who were forced to provide sex to Japanese troops during wartime.

"The damage to Japan-South Korea relations could become unrepairable if thigs go on as they are," a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. Jiji Press