As a follow up to a previous incident this week, former South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung has clarified a government report, saying that it “failed to assign clear responsibility to then dictator Park Chung-hee.” The previous statement regarding the 1973 kidnapping incident had placed blame on the Korean Central Intelligence Agency but hadn’t stated that the operation was ordered by Park. Kim expresses his intent that in fact Park had ordered it, to clear up this discrepancy in the report. For now it appears as though a diplomatic resolution has been reached, but investigations by “law authorities” will continue, according to Foreign Minister Komura.
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On November 20th Japan is set to impose new restrictions on foreigners requiring every visitor to be fingerprinted. This is a measure to stop terrorists from entering the country repeatedly with fake passports. There is evidence that this has happened in the past, with Japan’s Justice Minister saying that he knows of a terrorist involved with one of the bombings of Bali who repeatedly entered Japan using different passports, although beyond this he did not specify any other details. Moreover, Japan’s support of the US invasion of Iraq means that it puts itself in danger of being a terrorist target. Those who oppose the new measure say it unfairly targets all foreigners when Japanese citizens are also capable of being criminals. It is also being called a step down in human rights for Japan, as the practice of fingerprinting foreigners (particularly residents) was abolished in 1999.
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In August, 1973 Kim Dae Jung (who later became president of South Korea) was abducted from Tokyo. And it has recently been revealed that that was done by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), which Japan protests as a major breach in Japanese sovereignty. Japan is also upset that they were falsely accused of having connection to the abduction. This revelation is set to unbalance the (very) delicate goodwill between Japan and South Korea. South Korea on the other hand is saying that by coming out with this information they are owning up to their past. There is also an unsaid implication that Japan has not done the same thing, as past conflicts between the two countries are always a topic of intense friction.
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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20071026TDY03103.htm
Yasuo Fukuda who has recently been elected Prime Minister of Japan has announced that he will NOT be visiting the Yasukuni shrine. He has also stated that in this spirit he is looking to increase ties with China, but he faces other challenges, even if he does this. How to divide up “Exclusive Economic Zones” in the East China has returned to the forefrunt of Sino-Japanese relations. While less emotionally charged than the issue of war crimes, these “EEZs” have significant gas reserves and as such both Japan and China want as much as possible for themselves. There is also the issue of Taiwan hanging over the two countries-if tensions were to escalate there the delicate balance of good will could be shattered. And even if things work out great between Prime Minister Fukuda and the Chinese government, there’s no gaurantee he’ll stick around long enough to accomplish anything appreciable. Nevertheless, with a new Prime Minister, Japan does have a good opportunity to start bettering their relationship with China.
Source Article:
http://www.jamestown.org/china_brief/article.php?articleid=2373727
What does giving a a $450 sakaki tree to Yasukuni shrine mean? That yet again, the Prime Minister of Japan is going to piss off his neighbors. Not that Abe-san isn’t trying to compromise- at least he didn’t go and visit it in person like Prime Minister Koizumi-san got in so much trouble for during his tenure. But South Korea and China are still probably going to take offense. For anyone not familiar with Yasukuni Shrine it is a Shinto shrine to Japanese war heroes-including some class A war criminals who are resposible for terrible atrocities in then-Korea and China during World War II. Therefore it’s pretty clear why China and South Korea take offense to their powerful neighbor Japan acting in a way which “supports” their oppressors. Abe-san is in a bind-he is expected by his conservative base to pay respects to the ancestors of his country, but he doesn’t want South Korea and China to hate Japan any more than they already do. That being said, it would be better for his country if he sucked up his pride and did as China and South Korea wish- his replacement- Yasuo Fukuda- has already been selected to correct Abe-san’s short and often considered disastrous tenure. What people think of Abe-san is no longer relevant. But that’s Japanese politics.
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