To Make Substantial Progress at the South Korea-US Summit

To make substantial progress at the South Korea-U.S. Summit, Abe has to show sincere reflection, and Obama should urge Japan to change its political actions.

In April, U.S. President Barack Obama will visit four countries in Asia, including South Korea and Japan. A specific schedule has not been decided yet, but it is highly likely that he will visit Japan from April 22 to 23, and then South Korea from April 23 to 24.

At first, South Korea was not on Obama’s Asia itinerary because he had already visited South Korea three times during his first term. Meanwhile, Obama had not visited Japan in the last three years. Thus, the Abe administration suggested that Obama visit Japan for three days. However, Obama’s final decision was to visit both Japan and Korea, spending two days and one night in each country. In other words, South Korea was added afterward, and Japan lost one day from [Obama’s] originally planned visit. The main reason why Obama changed his plan is to resolve the worsening relationship between South Korea and Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aggravated the relationship by visiting the Yasukuni shrine and saying reckless words about the comfort women of the World War II period. In this context, if Obama were to only visit Japan, that could be misinterpreted as support for what Abe has done. In addition to this concern, negative opinions about Abe that the international community has shared have influenced Obama’s plan. Fundamentally, the Abe administration’s ahistorical, inhuman behaviors changed Obama’s Asia itinerary.

The Abe administration should reconsider what it has done. Since 1996, Germany has held Holocaust Memorial days as events in tribute to Holocaust victims. Clearly, Germany sincerely reflects on its past. On the contrary, Abe and the politicians of his administration took totally different actions. They insisted that the comfort women were not forced and that invading Korea was legitimate. Moreover, they decided to include distorted stories in their history textbooks. Some conservative groups in Japan might favor these actions; however, these behaviors could damage Japan someday.

The South Korean government should stay calm. It is not the time to be proud of “a victory in a diplomatic competition between Korea and Japan” just because Obama decided to visit Korea.* Obama is going to stay in Korea for a short time. It could be the last visit during his term. The Korean government should do its best to make substantial progress. At this summit, the relationship between Korea and Japan should be one of the major agendas, as well as the issues with North Korea. South Korea’s government should exert diplomatic efforts to make Obama point out the distorted historical perceptions that the Abe administration has shown.

Obama should acknowledge the international community’s concerns about Japan’s thoughtless behaviors. The negative actions of the Abe administration are based on the alliance between Japan and the United States. The belief that “the United States, the strongest country, always supports Japan” causes Japan’s rash acts. Obama should not remain a spectator. For Korean-Japanese relations and peace in Northeast Asia, the U.S. should demand that Japan change its stance. Also, Obama should not agree with the Abe administration’s plan to enhance its military strength.

*Editor’s note: The author has used quotations marks as a stylistic choice, not in reference to actual quotes.