In an epoch-making move, South Korea’s major daily newspaper The JoongAng announced on March 27 that it has hired a former Japanese Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reporter, Onuki Tomoko, 48, as its Tokyo correspondent. It said it’s the first time that any South Korean newspaper has employed a Japanese reporter as a staff writer. It has … Read more
Fall down seven times, get up eight. This Japanese proverb about resilience also applies to Japan’s relationship with South Korea. After a 2018 ruling by the South Korean Supreme Court set off a diplomatic spiral within Japan-South Korea relations, 2022 saw a dramatic improvement in bilateral ties. Since then, numerous meetings between Japanese Prime Minister … Read more
To say that Japan-South Korea relations went through a rough patch in the late 2010s and early 2020s would be quite an understatement. From trade and territorial disputes, to the radar lock incident, the situation was made all the worse by ongoing historical disputes, which resurfaced with high-profile court cases. It seemed at one point … Read more
A long-standing legal axiom holds that courts should render similar decisions in similar cases. In a rule-based society, judicial consistency is paramount in preserving the rule of law and avoiding disarray. This principle is even more relevant when litigation involves multiple nations, as a unilateral verdict in one country may induce unwarranted diplomatic conflict. In … Read more
U.S. President Joe Biden, center, greets South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol, left, and Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, right, on Aug. 18, 2023, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Maryland. Credit: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File The Israel-Hamas war is proving to be the first major test of Japan and South Korea’s ability to … Read more
Advertisement Every year since 1990, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announces recipients of the “Profiles in Courage Award,” named after late President Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book. The award is granted to individuals – mostly elected U.S. officials – who have demonstrated courage by pursuing the public good amid political risks and blowbacks. This year, … Read more
Advertisement The leaders of South Korea and Japan met with U.S. President Joe Biden last month in a “historic” trilateral summit aimed at expanding strategic cooperation. Photos of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio smiling at each other at the Camp David retreat near Washington, D.C. were accompanied by press … Read more
In this photo taken during the tour of the treated water dilution and discharge facility for foreign media, journalists are guided along with tanks containing treated radioactive wastewater, part of the facility for the releasing treated radioactive water to sea from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), … Read more
Advertisement Seoul office worker Kim Mijeong said she intends to stop eating seafood because she deeply mistrusts the safety of Japan’s release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from its crippled nuclear power plant. “We should absolutely cut back on our consumption of seafood. Actually, we can’t eat it,” Kim said. “I can’t accept … Read more
The Debate The two East Asian nations should take inspiration from landmark treaty in Europe. Advertisement Following last year’s Madrid Summit, the leaders of the four Asia-Pacific countries of Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand attended the NATO Summit in Lithuania in July. I first visited NATO Headquarters in Brussels in 1994, shortly after … Read more