Considering Boycott of Olympic Ceremony

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe considers not attending the opening ceremony of Pyeongchang Olympic on February 9^th, rejecting invitation from Moon Jae-in administration of South Korea. While Abe attributes his possible absence to schedule of Ordinary Session of the Diet starting next Monday, it is obvious that he has been frustrated with Moon’s new policy on comfort woman issue. Abe administration is making a clear contrast with Kim Jong-un regime of North Korea, which is easing tension with the South over participation to the Olympic.

After Moon announced new policy on comfort woman last week, in which he requested sincere apology of Japan, Abe has been taking hard position against South Korea. “We cannot accept unilateral request of further measures,” told Abe, based on the notion that the comfort woman issue had completely been settled. Abe argued that the agreement with Park Geun-hye administration in 2015 was a promise between two nations and implementation of it would be an internationally and universally accepted principle. He also insisted that Japan had wholly been implementing it.

Abe was right when he accused South Korean government of its unilateral redefinition of the agreement. But, the agreement is one thing and Olympic is another. One officer close to Abe elaborated the possible boycott of opening ceremony as exposure of strong determination of Japan to South Korea. It does not make sense for Japanese government to retaliate to an inconvenient decision of South Korea with boycotting an event of the Olympic.

France is sending President Emmanuel Macron to the opening ceremony. United States Vice President Mike Pence also planning to participate in. What Abe administration is considering is to send Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Yoshimasa Hayashi. Japan looks like trying to degrade Pyeongchang Olympic by sending a lowly ranked person in the administration.

Abe’s rejection of the opening ceremony will impress the world deteriorated trilateral relationship of Japan, US and South Korea in the time when they have to show firm integration against nuclear and missile intimidation of North Korea. There is an argument in Japan that Abe should attend for confronting North’s policy to separate South Korea from the alliance. Secretaries General of Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, Toshihiro Nikai and Yoshihisa Inoue, agreed on the recognition that Abe should attend the ceremony. It is still not clear that the joint encouragement of two parties can let an ill-tempered Prime Minister reconsider.