Südkorea fordert Japan auf, sich vor einer militärischen Zusammenarbeit zu entschuldigen – Präsident Lee Jae Myung sagt, dass Tokio eine echte Entschuldigung anbieten muss, bevor ein militärischer Logistikpakt vorangetrieben werden kann

So that means no military logistics pact then, got it. Really interesting that history seems such an important topic in both Japan and South Korea.

Japan’s perspective: Japan urgently needs South Korea’s geographical advantages and intelligence capabilities, such as access to data on the early trajectories of North Korean missiles, in order to respond to North Korea’s advancing missile program. At the same time, it is looking for a partner to help share the burden of acting as a strategic shield against China’s growing influence.

South Korea’s perspective: South Korea already has a strong deterrent against North Korea through its robust alliance with the United States. Because of this, there are ongoing questions about whether military cooperation with Japan, despite unresolved historical and territorial disputes and significant public resentment, would provide enough benefits to justify the costs. Critics argue that such cooperation could instead bring substantial drawbacks by damaging South Korea’s important economic and diplomatic relations with China.

If Lee and Takaichi can make a deal, it would be quite strong as they represent the right and left in their respective countries.

Thus far, both have been surprisingly pragmatic in foreign relations so we can expect to see more tie building.

Korea would initiate the pact and it would be good for Japan and Korea but Japan’s can’t acknowledge its dirty underbelly. Japanese morality is totally dependent on the right time and place. Nothing is negotiable, everything is possible.

„‚In order to become real friends, that attacker would need to say, ‚I’m genuinely sorry … it must have hurt you … I promise I will never do it again,'“ [Lee] said.“

One wonders if Lee is being a little bit disingenuous here for domestic political reasons. While whether Japan’s apologies have been consistently upheld by each government is a fair point of discussion, it’s ignoring a lot to imply that Japan has never made the kind of statements he is calling for. Not including more general apologies don’t specifically address Korea, there have been:

June 22, 1965: Minister of Foreign Affairs Shiina Etsusaburo said to the people of South Korea: „In our two countries‘ long history there have been unfortunate times, it is truly regrettable and we are deeply remorseful“ (Signing of the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and South Korea).

August 26, 1982: Chief Cabinet Secretary Miyazawa Kiichi said to the people of the Republic of Korea: „The Japanese Government and the Japanese people are deeply aware of the fact that acts by our country in the past caused tremendous suffering and damage to the peoples of Asian countries, including the Republic of Korea (ROK) and China, and have followed the path of a pacifist state with remorse and determination that such acts must never be repeated. Japan has recognized, in the Japan-ROK Joint Communique, of 1965, that the ‚past relations are regrettable, and Japan feels deep remorse,‘ …These statements confirm Japan’s remorse and determination which I stated above and this recognition has not changed at all to this day.“

September 6, 1984: Emperor Hirohito said to President Chun Doo Hwan: „It is indeed regrettable that there was an unfortunate past between us for a period in this century and I believe that it should not be repeated again.“ (Meeting with President Chun Doo Hwan.) [The post-war constitution prohibits the emperors of Japan from making official statements on matters related to politics, hence the deliberately imprecise choice of words from them]

September 7, 1984: Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro said: „There was a period in this century when Japan brought to bear great sufferings upon your country and its people. I would like to state here that the government and people of Japan feel deep regret for this error.“

1989: Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru, in a speech in the Japanese Diet, said: „As we have made clear previously at repeated opportunities, the Japanese government and the Japanese people are deeply conscious of the fact that the actions of our country in the past caused suffering and loss to many people in neighboring countries. Starting from our regret and resolve not to repeat such things a second time, we have followed a course as a „Peace Nation“ since then. This awareness and regret should be emphasized especially in the relationship between our countries and the Korean Peninsula, our nearest neighbors both geographically and historically. At this opportunity, as we face a new situation in the Korean Peninsula, again, to all peoples of the globe, concerning the relationship of the past, we want to express our deep regret and sorrow“ (Speech in the Japanese Diet).

May 24, 1990: Emperor Akihito, in a meeting with South Korean President Roh Tae Woo, said: „Reflecting upon the suffering that your people underwent during this unfortunate period, which was brought about by our nation, I cannot but feel the deepest remorse“.

May 25, 1990: Prime Minister Kaifu Toshiki, in a meeting with President Roh Tae Woo, said: „I would like to take the opportunity here to humbly reflect upon how the people of the Korean Peninsula went through unbearable pain and sorrow as a result of our country’s actions during a certain period in the past and to express that we are sorry“ (Summit meeting with President Roh Tae Woo in Japan)

January 16, 1992: Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi, in a speech at dinner with President Roh Tae Woo, said: „We the Japanese people, first and foremost, have to bear in our mind the fact that your people experienced unbearable suffering and sorrow during a certain period in the past because of our nation’s act, and never forget the feeling of remorse. I, as a prime minister, would like to once again express heartfelt remorse and apology to the people of your nation“.

January 17, 1992: Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi, at a policy speech on a visit to South Korea, said: „What we should not forget about the relationship between our nation and your nation is a fact that there was a certain period in the thousands of years of our company when we were the victimizer and you were the victim. I would like to once again express heartfelt remorse and apology for the unbearable suffering and sorrow that you experienced during this period because of our nation’s act.“ Recently the issue of the so-called ‚wartime comfort women‘ is being brought up. I think that incidents like this are seriously heartbreaking, and I am truly sorry“.

June 23, 1996: Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro said in a press conference: „Hashimoto mentioned the aspects of Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula such as the forced Japanization of Korean people’s name and commented „It is beyond imagination how this injured the hearts of Korean people“. Hashimoto also touched on the issue of Korean comfort women and said „Nothing injured the honor and dignity of women more than this and I would like to extend words of deep remorse and the heartfelt apology“ (Joint press conference at a summit meeting with President Kim Young Sam in South Korea).

October 8, 1996: Emperor Akihito said in a speech at a dinner with the South Korean president, Kim Dae Jung: „There was a period when our nation brought to bear great sufferings upon the people of the Korean Peninsula.“ „The deep sorrow that I feel over this will never be forgotten“

October 8, 1998: Prime Minister Obuchi Keizō said in a declaration: „Looking back on the relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea during this century, Prime Minister Obuchi regarded in a spirit of humility the fact of history that Japan caused, during a certain period in the past, tremendous damage and suffering to the people of the Republic of Korea through its colonial rule, and expressed his deep remorse and heartfelt apology for this fact. President Kim accepted with sincerity this statement of Prime Minister Obuchi’s recognition of history and expressed his appreciation for it. He also expressed his view that the present calls upon both countries to overcome their unfortunate history and to build a future-oriented relationship based on reconciliation as well as good-neighborly and friendly cooperation“ (Japan-South Korea Joint Declaration A New Japan-South Korea Partnership towards the Twenty-first Century).

October 15, 2001: Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro said: „During the talks, President Kim highly appreciated the words of Prime Minister Koizumi at Sodaemun Independence Park, in which he expressed remorse and apology for Japan’s colonial domination“ (Japanese prime minister visits South Korea).

September 17, 2002: Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro said: „The Japanese side regards, in a spirit of humility, the facts of history that Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of Korea through its colonial rule in the past, and expressed deep remorse and heartfelt apology“ (Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration).

February 11, 2010: Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya said: „I believe what happened 100 years ago deprived Koreans of their country and national pride. I can understand the feelings of the people who lost their country and had their pride wounded,“ Okada said during a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan.

August 10, 2010: Prime Minister Kan Naoto expressed „deep regret over the suffering inflicted“ during the Empire of Japan’s colonial rule over Korea. Japan’s Kyodo News also reported that Cabinet members endorsed the statement.

December 7, 2010: Prime Minister Kan Naoto apologized for Korea’s suffering under colonization as part of a statement marking the 100th anniversary of the annexation in 1910. „I express a renewed feeling of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology for the tremendous damage and suffering caused by colonial rule,“ Kan said. Kan said Japan colonized Korea „against the will of the Korean people“ who suffered great damage to their national pride and loss of culture and sovereignty as a result and added that he wants to take an honest look at his country’s past with the courage and humility to address its history.

all is gone on both side, say sorry for the dead and move on

Nah,South Korea is an ungrateful country.Sourheast Asians defended their crappy country during the Korean war,but they are very racist against SEA people.It’s like they only see the white leaders but don’t see the brown people in the trenches.Many Koreans actually had no idea military from SEA were in the frontlines,they only know the white leaders behind those brown soldiers.

If Germany had been ruled by a Neo-Nazi regime for decades and their politicians visited Hitler’s grave every year, would anyone in the world think they’re actually sorry? That is exactly what Japan is doing right now, you weeaboo enthusiasts. And you Japanese right-wingers, just be quiet and listen to the criticism.