At a time when summit diplomacy between major East Asian nations China, Korea, and Japan at a standstill, Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi is finding he has less and less room to stand in. Japanese media are openly suggesting he is being ignored. It has already been quite some time since summit-level dialogue between China and Japan broke off, and Korean president Roh Moo Hyun, who since last year has held off on making a reciprocal state visit to Japan, on the March First holiday criticized Koizumi's worshiping at Yasukuni shrine while invoking "universal human conscience" and "the experience of history."
We regret that Koizumi looks as if he is being looked down, that while being questioned for his conscience and moral standing by others in the arena of East Asian diplomacy. It is in no way desirable to have an absence of summit diplomacy when you think of the issues before the three countries such as resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and constructing a community for peace and prosperity. And he is making a bad mistake if he thinks the problem is that Korea and China are working together to deliberately do him in.
One worries it is highly likely the situation will continue until Koizumi steps down in September. Officials in China and Japan continue to exchange words laced with thorns, and the mood has gotten to the point where China's ambassador in Tokyo openly disregards calls to appear at the Japanese foreign ministry. Primary responsibility for the situation being what it is lies with Koizumi and his effort to legitimize worshiping at Yasukuni. Even members of the Japanese right disagree with his logic when it comes to the shrine visits; how can the countries with the painful memory of a war of aggression and colonial rule ever understand? We do not want to see Koizumi retire dishonorably from the East Asian arena as a "human vegetable," and that is why we again respectfully ask for cool-headed self-examination.
The Hankyoreh, 18 March 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Koizumi Going To Remain 'Persona Non Grata'? |
