[Editorial] Abe’s policy speech a deliberate attempt to worsen S. Korea-Japan relations

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gives his annual policy address during the first day of the regular session of the Japanese Diet on Jan. 28.

In his annual policy speech on Jan. 28, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made no mention at all of relations with South Korea. It was a gesture of deliberate disregard for the serious frictions between the two sides, which have recently been spilling over from matters of history such as sexual slavery and forced labor under the Japanese imperial military, with a series of low-altitude flybys by Japanese patrol aircraft.

Abe’s aim appears to be to allow the current discord and antagonism to fester rather than trying to mend the two sides’ relationship. We can only express our deep dismay at his irresponsible attitude.

The only mention of South Korea in Abe’s policy speech came during his explanation on North Korea issues, when he announced plans of “closely coordinating with the international community, in particular Washington and Seoul.” This stands in sharp contrast with the active policy commitment he declared with regard to Japan’s other neighbors. Abe announced his commitment to normalizing relations with Pyongyang, saying he would “break through the shell of mutual distrust and miss no opportunities as I sit down face-to-face with Workers’ Party Chairman Kim Jong-un.” In the case of China, he stated his willingness to “usher China-Japan relations up to the next stage.”

It is true that Abe has continually downgraded Japan’s relationship with South Korea every year since he arrived in office a second time in 2012. But this latest failure to state even a ceremonial commitment to improving ties is all too deliberate and politicized. It comes across as childish – venting his displeasure at another party by ignoring it. Reports in the Japanese press suggest he may have been inspired by public opinion, with approval ratings for Abe’s Cabinet growing amid the recent intensifying clash with South Korea.

But past experiences with South Korea-US relations show that both sides unquestionably lose out as the discord drags on. It is hard to find any signs of a responsible national leader in Abe when he seems to revel in the problems and the domestic political gains they offer rather than trying to resolve them.

The blame for the embers of the two sides’ timeworn conflicts spilling over into the military realm lies with Japan. The conflict began when Japan suddenly and openly claimed late last year that a South Korean naval vessel has “engaged in a threatening action” by “locking on to a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft with targeting radar on the East Sea.” It has continued raising military tensions ever since, with no fewer than three low-altitude flybys by Japanese maritime patrol aircraft. To see Abe playing dumb about the issue and making no reference to it in his policy speech, we can only seriously ask how he intends to address South Korea-Japan relations going ahead.

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