[Editorial] Be Consistent on Policy Towards Japan

After Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi went to worship at Yasukuni Shrine last week Korean foreign minister Ban Ki Moon said it would be inappropriate for him to visit Japan, but five days later he had a change of mind and has announced plans to visit Tokyo. That is unfortunate because it looks like "inconsistent diplomacy." Japan uttered not a single word of apology; is not Korea lowering itself? Naturally it is inconsistent with the sentiment of the people.

The government's explanation is that the decision to have Ban go to Japan is in accordance to "guidelines on policy towards Japan" created several days ago by a high-level strategic council headed by president Roh Moo Hun. The guidelines call for political and foreign policy issues to be treated separately from regular exchange and cooperation, while foreign policy is to be divided into what is essential and what is optional and then limits are put only on what is optional. That does make some sense, because however serious the Yasukuni issue may be it would still not be desirable to have the whole of Korea's relationship with Japan be destabilized. You wonder, however, if Ban's visit to Japan is "essential." The government says it has to consult with Japan about the APEC summit and the fifth round of six-party talks, but it is not essential that consultations be done at the ministerial level. Ban says he intends to convey Korea's position to the Japanese government. He needs to remember that the whole country will be watching to see how that goes.

Worshiping at the Yasukuni Shrine is anti-peace and immoral because it is a rationalization of imperial Japan's aggression and atrocities. Behind Koizumi's open visits to the shrine lies a desire to take the imperialist legacy and use it as fertilizer for making Japan a military power and for competing for supremacy in East Asia. It will be hard to prevent such anachronistic behavior by Japan with foreign policy that gets all excited when something happens only to hold out Korea's hand as if nothing ever was the matter once things have quieted down. It is time to think of why China has chosen to not hold meetings between their heads of state for the past three and a half years.

The Hankyoreh, 26 October 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]