South Korea moved towards resolving a delicate, historical dispute with Japan over World War II-era forced labor on Monday as Seoul seeks closer ties to counter North Korea.
Why is the issue so sensitive and what will it take for the two countries — both key US security allies — to move beyond their fraught past? Here are some key dates in the story.
COLONIAL PERIOD
Photo: AFP
Japan and Korea have fought since at least the seventh century, with Tokyo repeatedly trying to invade.
Japan annexed Korea in 1910.
Koreans were forced to adopt Japanese surnames during the colonial period and, when World War II broke out, were conscripted into the Imperial Army or made to work in mines and factories.
Photo: AFP
Japan also forced tens of thousands of women from across Asia, many of them Korean, to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers.
The occupation ended in 1945 with Japan’s wartime surrender.
KOREAN WAR
The Korean peninsula was carved up by victors the United States and the Soviet Union after the war.
Communist North Korea invaded the capitalist South in June 1950, sparking a brutal war that killed millions of people.
The conflict ended in an armistice rather than a full peace treaty, further delaying and complicating the resolution of colonial-era issues.
THE 1965 TREATY
Former South Korean president Park Chung-hee agreed in 1965 to normalize relations with Japan in exchange for economic support to launch a meaningful post-Korean War recovery.
Tokyo insisted that 1965 treaty, under which the two countries restored diplomatic ties with a reparations package of about $800 million in grants and cheap loans, settled all claims relating to the colonial period.
The deal triggered bitter public protest in South Korea.
‘COMFORT WOMEN’
Kim Hak-sun came forward in August 1991 to testify about her experience as a “comfort woman” made to provide sexual services for the Japanese military, the first Korean to speak about it publicly.
Her action encouraged hundreds of victims from Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Netherlands to do the same.
FIRST APOLOGIES
In 1995, then prime minister Tomiichi Murayama extended a “heartfelt apology” for Japan’s “colonial rule and aggression (which) caused tremendous damage and suffering.”
A similar declaration, between then leaders Keizo Obuchi and Kim Dae-jung, followed in 1998.
Junichiro Koizumi, another Japanese prime minister, personally wrote to surviving “comfort women” in 2001.
Many Koreans have criticized the apologies, wanting Japan to admit legal responsibility and pay compensation.
2015 DEAL
South Korea and Japan reached a “final and irreversible” agreement in December 2015, under which Tokyo offered an apology and one billion yen to open a foundation to support surviving comfort women.
Many of them received funds from the foundation but other victims and activists condemned the deal, citing Japan’s refusal to accept formal legal responsibility.
Japan said the payment was aimed at “restoring the women’s dignity” but was not official compensation.
BACKTRACKING
South Korea’s left-leaning government threatened to scrap the comfort women deal in 2018, then-president Moon Jae-in describing it as “seriously flawed.”
The Moon administration shut down the fund in 2019, saying it wanted to “recover the SUPREME COURT RULING
South Korean courts ruled in 2018 that Japanese companies should pay restitution to Korean forced laborers during World War II, a landmark ruling that further torpedoed ties.
Japan imposed controls on the export of crucial semiconductor materials the following year and removed South Korea from its “preferred trading nations” list — seen by experts as likely retaliation.
NEW ADMINISTRATION
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to get tough on North Korea and improve ties with Tokyo on taking office in 2022. Pyongyang conducted a record number of banned weapons tests, prompting Yoon to boost joint military drills with security partners Washington and Tokyo and to move to resolve lingering wartime disputes.
NEW DEAL
South Korea announced on Monday plans to compensate victims of Japan’s forced wartime labor by taking money from major South Korean companies that benefited from the 1965 treaty.
Seoul expressed hopes for a positive response from Japan that included “Japanese companies’ voluntary contributions and a comprehensive apology.”
The announcement was denounced by victims, who want a full apology and compensation from the Japanese companies involved.
While the plan did not include a fresh apology, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tokyo stood by its 1998 declaration and apology.
Jason Han says that the e-arrival card spat between South Korea and Taiwan shows that Seoul is signaling adherence to its “one-China” policy, while Taiwan’s response reflects a reciprocal approach. “Attempts to alter the diplomatic status quo often lead to tit-for-tat responses,” the analyst on international affairs tells the Taipei Times, adding that Taiwan may become more cautious in its dealings with South Korea going forward. Taipei has called on Seoul to correct its electronic entry system, which currently lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan),” warning that reciprocal measures may follow if the wording is not changed before March 31. As of yesterday,
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must have been slaves, for the Portuguese dealt slaves across Asia. Though we often speak of “Portuguese” ships, imagining them as picturesque vessels manned by pointy-bearded Iberians, in Asia Portuguese shipping between local destinations was crewed by Asian seamen, with a handful of white or Eurasian officers. “Even the great carracks of 1,000-2,000 tons which plied
Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers. Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region could, if they pursue those goals, have nuclear energy in the 2030s. Even countries without current plans have signaled their interest. Southeast Asia has never produced a single watt of nuclear energy, despite long-held atomic ambitions. But that may soon change as pressure mounts to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change, while meeting growing power needs. The
It’s only half the size of its more famous counterpart in Taipei, but the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Nature Science (NMNS, 國立自然科學博物館植物園) is surely one of urban Taiwan’s most inviting green spaces. Covering 4.5 hectares immediately northeast of the government-run museum in Taichung’s North District (北區), the garden features more than 700 plant species, many of which are labeled in Chinese but not in English. Since its establishment in 1999, the site’s managers have done their best to replicate a number of native ecosystems, dividing the site into eight areas. The name of the Coral Atoll Zone might
RSS