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Publications The Moon Jae-in Administration's Diplomacy with Japan and Korea-Japan Relations Suk-Jung Yoon Upload Date 2021-11-02 Hits 227331
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 I.  Introduction
Ⅱ. The Current State of Korea-Japan Relations in the Post-Abe Era 
Ⅲ. The Newly Launched Kishida Government and Outlook on Korea-Japan Relations
Ⅳ. How Can the Impasse of Korea-Japan Relations be Broken? 


I.  Introduction

Since September 2020 when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned and Yoshihide Suga’s cabinet was launched, the Moon Jae-in administration has made efforts to improve Korea-Japan relations. Nevertheless, the relationship between the two countries still remains strained. Korea had hoped that a summit meeting held on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (7.23) would provide an opportunity to improve relations. However, the two countries failed to agree on the agenda and format for the meeting, and eventually, plans were abandoned. Afterwards, on September 3, Prime Minister Suga announced that he would not run for president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and Fumio Kishida was elected as the new prime minister of Japan on October 4, 2021. Thus, the Korean government faced a second Japanese leadership change after Abe.

With Abe’s resignation in August of last year Japanese politics entered a post-Abe era, yet the Moon Jae-in administration’s diplomatic challenges with Japan carried over from the Abe government. During the days when Moon Jae-in and Abe were in power, Korea and Japan clashed over the issue of Japanese military 'comfort women' and the Korean court’s ruling over the forced mobilization of laborers during the Japanese colonial period. Even now, these two issues remain the most prominent historical issues between the two countries. Korea and Japan also dissented over the North Korean issue. As the peace process on the Korean Peninsula was underway, starting with the Pyeongchang Olympics in February 2018, Korea and Japan showed a clear difference in their positions on the definition of denuclearization and whether sanctions on North Korea should be lifted or not.

Meanwhile, the Korean government faces a set of new diplomatic challenges with Japan. First, after Abe's long-term stay in power the Suga government only lasted about a year. This indicates that the stability of the Japanese cabinet and the frequent change of prime ministers are going to be new factors influencing Korea-Japan relations. Even after Kishida’s government is launched, bilateral relations is expected to be affected by Japan’s domestic political situation including the duration of the new government. Second, claims of reparations arising from historical events and its enforcement are being litigated in Korean courts. In the case of Japanese military 'comfort women' and forced labor mobilization, the liquidation of Japanese corporates’ assets to pay damages is proceeding in accordance with the Korean judicial process. Third, the US Biden administration is working to improve Korea-Japan relations as part of the effort to restore ROK-US-Japan and Korea-Japan relations and align them with its larger Indo-Pacific strategy. 

As such, Korea-Japan relations in the post-Abe era consist of complex, multi-faceted issues carried over from the Abe government as well as newly emerging factors that will determine bilateral relations in the mid-to-long term. The immediate goal of Korea's diplomacy with Japan is to find an opportunity to improve relations with Japan during the remainder of the Moon Jae-in administration's term and to re-establish Korea-Japan relations with a mid-to-long-term view. Based on such understanding, this article will assesses the current state of Korea-Japan relations based on the following three aspects. First, we will take retrospective view on Korea-Japan relations during the Moon-Suga governments. The Suga government provides insight into Japan's policy toward Korea in the post-Abe era. Second, we will analyze how the asset liquidation process in the court cases of forced laborers and comfort women will affect Korea-Japan relations. Third, we will discuss the role and limitations of the Biden government in shaping Korea-Japan relations. Based on the analysis of the current state of Korea-Japan relations, we will project future bilateral relations during the Kishida government. Finally, based on such analysis, we will discuss the necessary factors to be considered in order to break the diplomatic impasse between the two countries. 


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