• About Us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
TFI Official Merchandise
TFI English
TFI हिन्दी
Saturday, February 4, 2023
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
Right Arm. Round the World. FAST.
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
No Result
View All Result

Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is mending ties with South Korea, and it is bad news for China

Akshay Narang by Akshay Narang
September 25, 2020
in Indo-Pacific
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Japan, South Korea, China, Xi Jinping, Yoshihide Suga, Moon Jae-in
268
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Chinese enthusiasm around Shinzo Abe’s exit as the Prime Minister of Japan is fast coming to terms with harsh realities. Beijing had heaved a sigh of relief when Abe announced his resignation in hope of a softer Japanese PM. But Abe’s successor, Yoshihide Suga, isn’t proving to be China’s friend either. In fact, there is more bad news for China as Suga is mending ties with China’s arch-rival, South Korea.

Suga’s accession to power has created scope for a rapprochement between South Korea and Japan. Despite a common threat in China and its client state North Korea, Seoul and Tokyo were not getting along well while Shinzo Abe was in power, largely due to the perception of Abe as a right-wing, nationalist leader and the bitter past of Japanese atrocities on the Korean Peninsula. But with Suga in power, South Korea and Japan are showing more readiness to engage with each other.

Also Read

US Sends Its Dog To Manipulate South Korea

Is South-East Asia ready for the Chinese collapse?

In fact, Yoshihide Suga has taken some big steps to repair the frayed ties between South Korea and Japan. The Japanese PM said, “I told President Moon that we cannot leave our current very difficult relations where they are now,” following a telephone call with the President Moon Jae-in. Suga added, “Cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as between Japan, the United States and South Korea, is crucial to deal with North Korea and other issues.”

The Japanese Prime Minister also said that Japan would continue to “firmly seek appropriate action from South Korea”. Suga is, therefore, ready to placate South Korea’s concerns about Japan which is central to any improvement in the bilateral ties of these two American allies.

South Korea itself feels much more comfortable with Yoshihide Suga at the helm of affairs. Senior South Korean officials had vowed to “advance stalled negotiations on pending issues” once a new Japanese leader came at the helm of affairs. Now that Abe is out of power, Seoul prepares to engage Japan and form a common understanding on all issues.

In fact, the telephone call between Moon and Suga too was requested by Seoul. And last month the South Korea President had even written to Suga expressing his readiness to sit down any time and improve relations between Seoul and Tokyo.

With Abe out of power, there are signs of South Korea’s insecurities towards Japan taking a backseat. There are still some lingering wounds that date back to the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945. Japan and South Korea were engaged in pitched battles since the seventh century. In 1910, Japan invaded Korea effectively turning it into a colony.

Till 1945, Korean labourers were forced to work at Japanese companies. When Imperialist Japan went berserk in 1930s, Koreans were forced to work at factories or mines, or even get enlisted as soldiers. Many Korean women were also sent to Japanese military brothels. These women victims were described as “comfort women”.

Last year, the bitter past of South Korea-Japan relations came up again. While Seoul feels that Japan should pay reparations for the atrocities committed during the era of the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula, Tokyo considers the issue to be settled. While such differing historical perceptions aren’t uncommon between South Korea and Japan, they took a turn for the worst last year.

In 2018, South Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to pay reparations to ageing Koreans who were used as forced labour during the wartime years. But Japan saw the ruling as a violation of a 1965 treaty between Seoul and Tokyo that involved Japanese payments in lieu of restoration of diplomatic ties. Thereafter, in August 2019, Japan removed Seoul’s favoured trade partner status and imposed exports controls on chemicals vital to South Korea’s electronics sector.

Therefore, Suga has taken over Japan’s Prime Ministership at a time when the complicated history shared by South Korea and Japan threatens to spill over into a political and trade stand-off. But there seems to be a realisation in both Seoul and Tokyo that there is no use fighting over historical disputes that aren’t even remotely connected to the present geopolitical realities.

Today’s reality is that both South Korea and Japan are American allies. Both of them face a similar threat, that is, China in their backyard. While Japan and China are fighting over the Senkaku Islands chain in the East China Sea, South Korea and China share an EEZ dispute in the Yellow Sea, apart from Beijing’s support for Seoul’s arch-foe, North Korea.

And then, both Japan and South Korea have to face the threat of a China-backed ‘Nuclear’ North Korea. Japan and South Korea share too much of a common threat to be fighting against each other over historical disputes which can now be resolved bilaterally. Suga and Moon Jae-in seem to realise that they need to come together and take on China. As South Korea and Japan shed their historical bitterness, a major obstacle has been removed, and it is more bad news coming for China from Tokyo.

Tags: Moon Jae-inSouth KoreaXi JinpingYoshihide Suga
Share100TweetSend
Previous Post

The Great Filipino flip-flop: Swinging between pro-China and anti-China, is Duterte confused or is he a plain genius?

Next Post

‘Cannot afford further isolation,’ Fear of Saudi, Russia and India makes Qureshi drop Kashmir rant at SAARC summit

Also Read

China Children

China comes up with a bizarre idea to overcome demographic challenges

February 1, 2023
Czech Republic Taiwan

Taiwan friends a new ally in the Balkans

February 1, 2023
Is South-East Asia ready for the Chinese collapse?

Is South-East Asia ready for the Chinese collapse?

January 25, 2023
Finally! Jacinda Ardern has done something good for Kiwis

Finally! Jacinda Ardern has done something good for Kiwis

January 19, 2023
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
World Economic Forum

“Sex, sleaze, and drugs” is what WEF is all about

January 18, 2023
Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation?

Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation?

May 9, 2022
France’s gift to Ukraine is actually a gift for Russia

France’s gift to Ukraine is actually a gift for Russia

January 28, 2023
Lavrov’s presence in Eritrea is very unsettling for…..

Lavrov’s presence in Eritrea is very unsettling for…..

January 29, 2023
Ukraine weapons

3 nations spoil Biden’s plan to fuel Ukraine war with South American ammunition

January 31, 2023
Belize

Belize: From Maya civilisation to colonialism

February 3, 2023
Biden Poland visit

Biden pins his hope on Pro-Russia Poland for peace in Ukraine

February 3, 2023
Suriname oil

New US ambassador to Suriname pledges to ‘loot and plunder’ Suriname

February 3, 2023
Trudeau’s aggressive green agenda is harming Canada’s agriculture

Trudeau’s aggressive green agenda is harming Canada’s agriculture

February 3, 2023
Calls for Ruto to undo the wrong doings of Kenya’s founding fathers

Calls for Ruto to undo the wrong doings of Kenya’s founding fathers

February 3, 2023
Youtube Twitter Facebook
TFIGlobal
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy

©2023 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean

©2023 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Follow us on Twitter

and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team

Follow @tfiglobal
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. View our Privacy and Cookie Policy.