Protesting unilateral building of a statue
of comfort woman in front of Consulate General of Japan in Busan, the
government of Japan announced on Friday that it would temporary return
Ambassador to South Korea, Yasumasa Nagamine, to Japan. Some ongoing issues
between Japan and Republic of Korea will be intermitted. Falling down of
President Park Geun-hye, who had been promoting reconciliation with Shinzo Abe
administration began to affect the bilateral diplomacy.
College students and members of some civil
groups build up a statue of comfort woman in front of Japanese Consulate
General in Busan at the end of last year. It was a protest against an agreement
between Abe and Park a year ago, which required ROK to remove a statue of
comfort woman in front of Japanese Embassy in Seoul. While local government of
Busan once removed the statue, the civil groups built it up again. Ministry on
Diplomacy issued a comment that it would maintain an attitude to implement the
agreement with Japan, making no actual action to remove the statue.
Frustrated with reluctant treatment of ROK,
Abe administration connected the issue with diplomatic countermeasures. In
addition to returning the Ambassador, Japanese government announced intermission
of bilateral discussion over currency swapping agreement, postponing of
high-level economic discussion on economic cooperation and rejection of
participating in the local events in Busan. “While it is extremely regretful
for us to have to take those measures, I hope them to implement what a country
has promised to another,” told Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga.
After Park was involved in a great scandal
of her long-time close ally, South Korean government was precipitated into a
broad confusion. Protesters are overturning the achievements of Park
administration, including improvement of relationship with Japan. The response
to the measures delivered from Japan was supposedly coordinated by Prime
Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on behalf of Park. But it is unclear whether this lame-ducked
administration can handle the growing public frustration with appeasing policy
to Japan, 60% of which requires cancellation of the agreement with Japan.
The diplomatic countermeasures of Japan
were to deliver a strong message that Japan would not accept it. There was an
analysis that anti-Japan movement could be ignited, if Japan had made no
response. However, foreign policy of Abe administration cannot afford to
deterioration of relationship with South Korea, one of the few countries that
share common values in Asia-Pacific. Abe could not make expected progress in
the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, and the incoming
President of United States, Donald Trump, is taking hard measures on trade with
Japan. While the agreement with South Korea has been recognized as Abe’s
achievement in diplomacy, sudden backlash from South Korean public was a great
surprise for Abe.
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