By Simran Walia

Japan and South Korea, the two East Asian neighbours have shared a hostile relationship for decades due to their historical issues. Both nations are economically advanced and are also strong US allies, however, their relations have been strained due to Japan’s colonisation of the Korean Peninsula and the comfort women issue. The recent summit between Japan and South Korea in March 2023 was the first summit between the leaders of both countries. The summit was widely focused on discussing the security threats by North Korea and China’s growing assertiveness.

The US and South Korea have also focused on strengthening the extended deterrence emphasizing the US military capabilities to deter attacks on its strong allies. Both nations have focussed on deterrence over increased apprehension regarding North Korea’s growing capabilities which is also one of the key agendas in the recent US-South Korea summit.

Background of Japan-South Korea Relations

Japan and Korea have been engaged in disputes over Japanese colonisation from 1910-1945 of the Korean Peninsula along with atrocities faced during World War II. The atrocities included forced prostitution for Japanese soldiers, known as the ‘comfort women’ issue. Several protests were held within Japan due to which it was further made evident that both nations resolved their wartime issues in their 1965 normalisation treaty. However, on the other hand, South Korean rulings believe that the victims were not compensated for the torture and emotional pain they suffered.

The ‘comfort women’ issue has been one of the major reasons for their hostile relations as hundreds of Korean women were used as Japan’s wartime sexual slavery. Furthermore, in 2015, both nations reached an agreement under which Japan provided $9.3 million to compensate for this issue and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also apologised for the same. The relations between South Korea and Japan aggravated in 2018 when the South Korean court ordered several Japanese companies to offer compensation for the Korean victims and in return, Japan imposed several trade sanctions on Korea. The Japanese government also restricted exports of materials that were important to South Korean manufacturers.

Summit meeting

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Tokyo to meet his Japanese counterpart, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in an attempt to improve their ties. This meeting is seen as a big step to rebuild the security and economic ties between the two nations as both are US allies and further seek to form a united front also driven by mutual concerns regarding North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and China’s behaviour. Both leaders affirmed that regular visits and meetings should be resumed and both leaders also agreed to resume their defence dialogue and vice-ministerial strategic talks.

The North Korean threat of its nuclear missile program poses a great threat to stability and peace in East Asia as well as the international community due to which it is vital for Japan and South Korea to work together to be able to counter this threat. Both Yoon and Kishida believe that cooperation between Japan and South Korea could prove to be beneficial in countering such security threats. Both leaders aim to increase their cooperation in areas of security, economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges. The US too supported this summit meeting between two of its close and strong allies and the US wishes for enduring progress in their relationship. The meeting further focussed on strengthening the US-Japan-South Korea trilateral as it also has a positive impact on the US and Japan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and vision.

Moreover, before the summit, Japan had agreed to lift the export controls on South Korea and it was remarked by South Korean Trade Minister Lee Chang-Yang that South Korea would withdraw its complaint to the World Trade Organisation after the curbs were removed.

US-Japan-South Korea trilateral

Washington has welcomed better Japan-South Korea ties as their historical issues have been an obstacle in embracing its alliances in Asia. China’s aggressive behaviour and North Korea’s rampant missile tests have led to a heightened need for cooperation between Japan and South Korea. The trilateral military exercise among the US, Japan and South Korea in February 2023 was a ballistic missile defence drill which reflected shared values and their commitment to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. These three countries issued a joint statement too which outlined a vision including a partnership for the Indo-Pacific. Furthermore, the trilateral arrangement focused on economic security to promote cooperation on critical technologies.

The United States, Japan and South Korea should work together on accelerating their trilateral arrangement. The three nations can work on expanding as well as institutionalizing trilateral military exercises along with deepening information sharing tactics through the Ministry of Defence in Tokyo. Moreover, Japan and the US should work on involving South Korea in the regional efforts for supporting the rules-based international order in order to work to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision. Since South Korea released its Indo-Pacific strategy at the end of 2022, there is a potential for further cooperation between Japan, South Korea and the US in the fields of climate change, development finance and emerging technologies. Japan’s alliance with the US and South Korea being a strong US ally will prove to be beneficial for embracing this trilateral mechanism. The US, Japan and South Korea recently announced to hold defence exercises along with regularisation of missile defence and anti-submarine drills to deter North Korea’s nuclear and military advancements.

South Korea is further attempting to balance between the US and China, its largest trade partner. However, President Yoon believes that the Taiwan Issue is a global issue and also opposes any change in the status quo by force. Therefore, this trilateral could perhaps be embraced and these three nations could cooperate regarding the Taiwan Issue.

Way Forward

This recent summit between Japan and South Korea is a significant step in resolving their bilateral ties. Regular defence dialogues and strategic talks between the two nations would further lead to the restoration of the general security of military information agreement which Japan and South Korea signed in 2016. The improved security partnership between the two nations will depend on defence and deterrence capabilities on the Korean Peninsula.

Japan should work on organising more regular and multi-layered bilateral consultations with South Korea along with the 2+2 foreign ministerial meeting that Japan has been conducting with the US and India as well. The leadership of Yoon and Kishida has led the two nations to reach an important point in their bilateral relations, however, historical issues may still linger on in their ties. Nevertheless, the diplomatic efforts between the two countries provide an opportunity to deepen cooperation between Japan and South Korea in the Indo-Pacific. This recent concord between the two nations has been widely driven by the adverse security environment including North Korea’s missile tests and China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour.

(The author is a Research Associate at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, pursuing a PhD In Japanese Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi (JNU). She has worked at Observer Research Foundation, in Delhi. Her research interests include Japanese politics and foreign policy, and Indo-Pacific and East Asian foreign policy too.)

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