[기자메모] It is regrettable that America’s tilted perception of history… Japan has yet to demonstrate its ‘political power’

“President Seok-yeol Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida demonstrated their political power, and thanks to that, both countries can look to the future.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris said this at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance held at the Korea-US Economic Institute (KEI) in Washington on the 9th (local time). After he finished speaking, the other US ambassadors in Korea and Cho Tae-yong, the ambassador to the US, also nodded.

The US position to pay attention to the’political decision of the leaders of Korea and Japan’ was also included in President Joe Biden’s statement four days ago, as soon as the Korean government announced a plan to compensate victims of forced labor (conscription). However, this only reaffirms that the United States has a slanted perspective on the issue of Korea-Japan history.

Japan did not move an inch in the course of the last consultations between Korea and Japan. In the end, the South Korean government announced a ‘half-part’ solution that completely omitted Japan’s ‘sincere measures’ demanded by the victims of forced labor.

In any case, President Yoon made a political decision to prioritize improving Korea-Japan relations rather than respecting the victim’s position. And this decision, to borrow Ambassador Cho’s remarks that day, was “a decision not only about Korea and Japan, but also about the relationship between the United States and Korea.” It was an acknowledgment of the U.S. ‘variable’, which has made strengthening cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan a key pillar of its Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China.

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On the other hand, Prime Minister Kishida did not take any political risks. It was not a press conference or a phone call between the heads of state, but all that was said in the National Assembly’s answer was “to inherit the historical awareness of the previous cabinets.” It did not fit the format and content of the apology that the victims desperately wanted. President Yoon’s invitation to visit Japan came only after the South Korean side announced the ‘third-party reimbursement plan’, so it has little to do with efforts to resolve the conflict.

As the US has stated, if it wants to place importance on historical reconciliation and solidify the foundation for South Korea-US-Japan cooperation, it should order appropriate measures from Japan even now. Ambassador Cho emphasized that “President Yoon wanted to approach the (forced labor) issue from a strategic, broader, future-oriented perspective, rather than a political one.” It is also not mentioned that it is incomplete. I wish that Ambassador Cho had told the US that now it is Japan’s turn to make a ‘political decision’ to apologize and contribute to the fund of the accused company.