Prime Minister Kishida and South Korea's next president, Yoon Seok - Yeol, have a telephone conversation. Will there be any changes in foreign policy?
2022-03-12
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Second telephone conversation
Regarding Yun Seok-Yeol's telephone talk with Prime Minister Kishida of Japan following the US, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs' foreign policy states that ``we will strengthen mutual assistance with China, Japan, and Russia, centering on the South Korea-US alliance. ”, which indicates that the telephone conversation did not follow the order of current foreign policy.
Expression of foreign policy of both countries
Looking at South Korea's diplomatic white paper for 2021, it uses expressions for Japan that are a step above the terms ``closest neighbor'' and ``neighboring country,'' and after looking into it, it appears that this expression has been adopted in 2020.
Similarly, in 2020, Japan reinstated the expression "important neighbor", which had been removed in 2018 and 2019. Although this appears to be in response to South Korea's move, it is a step down from the "most important neighboring country" that was used up until 2017.
Since this was a telephone conversation to report on the election, I don't think it will have a direct impact on Japan's diplomatic blueprint for 2022, but since the South Korean president will be inaugurated in May, it is important for the country to be able to carry out full-fledged diplomatic activities. will be after that.
POINT It may be necessary to check the 2022 edition of the Diplomatic Bluebook to see if there will be any changes in Japan's foreign policy in the future
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Voting for South Korea's unified local elections was held on June 1st, with the ruling party
Local elections won by the ruling party
Local administration launches anti-Japanese movement
The president is the head of the executive branch
Twisted power runs amok
Efforts to improve relationships are always destroyed
Adopts resolution that violates international commitments
South Korea cannot keep its promises
Voting for South Korea's unified local elections was held on June 1st, with the ruling party "People's Power" winning 12 out of 17 regions, and the "Tomo Democratic Party" winning 4 regions including Jeolla Province and Gyeonggi Province by a narrow margin. It is reported that the ruling party won by a landslide, winning only five regions. This appears to be a trend that will lead to a resolution of the kinks between local government, the president, and the cabinet.
The No Japan movement was largely led by local governments. Gyeonggi Province, Seoul City, and Busan City have passed ordinances stipulating ``war criminal company stickers'' or ``restrictions on the purchase of war criminal company products.'' This is a surprising ordinance that places stickers on the products of Japanese companies that have been unilaterally labeled as war criminal companies, and restricts the use and purchase of those products in government agencies and schools.
Local governments in South Korea not only decide local leaders, but also exercise a variety of powers, including issuing ordinances that can lead to diplomatic issues between countries.
Regarding the ban on imports from Fukushima Prefecture, fishing organizations in coastal areas such as Busan are putting tremendous pressure on local governments. This is a local economic issue, and we do not want to import Japanese seafood to South Korea. This is to protect Korean fishing organizations. It is clear from the beginning that this is not a scientific problem.
The president assumes the position of head of the executive branch. Since the president is the head of state who is directly elected by the votes of all citizens, he is given great powers, unlike the prime minister in a parliamentary system.
In a parliamentary system, the leader of the parliament with the largest majority is elected prime minister. Therefore, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and the Diet, which is the legislative branch, will not be distorted. If anything could be twisted, the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors would be twisted.
In South Korea, the current president is Yun Seok-Yeol, who ran for office based on ``the power of the people,'' and the Democratic Party of Korea holds 58% of the seats in the National Assembly, the legislative body. In other words, even if the president uses his prerogatives, Congress can pass one bill after another to nullify them.
Substantive exchanges between Japan and South Korea began in 1998, when the Japan-Korea Joint Declaration was signed. Until then, Japanese culture, anime, manga, dramas, etc. had been prohibited in South Korea, but this declaration will lift the ban on these. It was also during this period that Korean dramas and K-POP began to flow into Japan.
Also known as the Obuchi-Kim Dae-jung Declaration, it was a declaration that comprehensively resolved the Japan-Korea issue, including the joint hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup between Japan and Korea and the conclusion of a new fisheries agreement regarding the Takeshima issue. It will be deactivated immediately thereafter.
On July 18, 2001, the South Korean parliament passed a unanimous resolution calling on the South Korean government to abolish the Japan-Korea Joint Declaration. Then, a large number of Korean fishing boats appeared near Takeshima, and the territorial issue reignited and continues to this day, and the activities of civil society groups on issues such as the forced labor issue and the comfort women issue further expanded. This is despite the fact that the World Cup was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea in 2002.
Will Congress vote to invalidate the president's diplomatic promises with other countries? Such unbelievable things happen in the South Korean National Assembly.
This has hardly been reported in Japan. Japan was united towards the success of the Japan-Korea joint World Cup. And during the match of this tournament, an incident occurs where Korean players criticize the Rising Sun flag and promote Takeshima as Korean territory. The premise behind this was that South Korea was already trying to revoke the 1998 Joint Declaration.
In South Korea, the president's powers will only be effectively exercised if he wins the presidential election and unified local elections, and the ``power of the people'' wins the national election in 2024.
The issue of South Korean ships conducting investigations around Takeshima shortly before and immediately after the presidential inauguration became a problem. In other words, South Korea is not even equipped to keep its promises..
This is especially noticeable in anti-Japanese groups. In South Korea, members of both the ruling and opposition parties are basically anti-Japanese.. Even if the Diet tries to improve relations with Japan as a matter of policy, if its practical interests are endangered, it will easily turn into an anti-Japanese Diet.
In Japan, if things are twisted, things will not be decided, but in Korea, twisted power begins to run amok. It is an uncontrolled rampage that continues even if international agreements are broken.
What happened to hydrogen fluoride - South Korea claims to have overcome Japan, but what is its relationship with product defects?
Moon Jae-in wants to say we won against Japan
Japanese hydrogen fluoride has fewer impurities
Relationship between hydrogen fluoride and defective rate
Massive recalls in America
Kona EV burst into flames again
Don't worry about exploding cars
In his farewell address, former President Moon Jae-in said that all people came together to overcome the crisis caused by Japan's unfair export restrictions. However, looking at the data, of the three export control items, hydrogen fluoride has decreased by 86% compared to fiscal 2018, while other items such as photoresist and fluorinated polyimide have remained almost unchanged.
Former President Moon Jae-in has loudly declared that hydrogen fluoride has been successfully domestically produced, but regarding the quality of hydrogen fluoride, it is Japan's hydrogen fluoride is 12N (99.9999999999%). There is talk that hydrogen fluoride, which is said to have been developed by Korea's LG Chem, may be 5N. ~N is the number 9, and 12N is 12×9. In other words, Japan's hydrogen fluoride has as few impurities as 12 nines in a row.
Hydrogen fluoride is used to clean machines and processes used in precision machinery manufacturing. What happens when there are many impurities here is an increase in the product defect rate. What about the defective rate of Korean products? Whether it went up or down, if there is no change, then whether it is 12N or not has little meaning.
On August 20, 2021, the US automobile giant General Motors (GM) expanded the scope of the recall due to the risk of fire in the battery pack installed in the electric vehicle (EV) “Chevrolet Bolt EV”. announcement. As a result of this announcement, all models of the Chevrolet Bolt EV released so far are subject to a recall. The battery manufacturer for this car is LG Chem.
In January 2022, another fire occurred in the Kona EV, in which Hyundai Motors had replaced the battery due to a recall after a series of battery fires. A fire broke out while the vehicle was running and was completely destroyed. According to Korean media, internet communities, and fire authorities, a fire accident occurred in a Kona EV that was traveling on Taean Road in South Chungcheong Province at around 6:46 pm on the 11th. The accident vehicle was a 2020 model, and the battery had been replaced due to a recall in September last year.
The explosion of lithium-ion batteries was a hot topic in the past when a Sumsung smartphone exploded into flames, but now that EV cars are being developed, the large batteries used to drive the car explode and burst into flames in the blink of an eye. It is unclear whether it has anything to do with hydrogen fluoride, but there is even a rumor that some Japanese-made hydrogen fluoride is being imported from China.
It would be surprising if they were going to such lengths to protect the country's face-to-face contact, but we should continue to pay close attention to defective products from South Korea.
Moon Jae - in's words regarding Park Geun - hye's pardon are abstract; who is the one who created the division?
[Excerpt from Chosun Ilbo article (translation)]
On the 24th, former President Park Geun-hye expressed her gratitude to President Moon Jae-in for granting him a special pardon.
Lawyer Yoo Yong-ha, a close aide to former President Park, met with reporters in front of Samsung Seoul Hospital in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where former President Park was hospitalized, and relayed former President Park's words on his behalf.
Regarding former President Park's health condition, attorney Yoo said, ``It looks like she will be receiving treatment at a hospital for the time being,'' but added, ``I cannot comment on the specific health condition right now.''
Regarding former President Park's future plans, lawyer Yoo said, ``Right now, he is concentrating on treating a new disease.He told me that he would not meet with anyone.''
On this day, to celebrate the new year of 2022, the government granted a special pardon to former President Park, who is currently in prison after being found guilty in the National Agricultural Organization Incident.
``We must overcome the pain of last year and move on to a new era,'' President Moon said, ``I hope that this will be the beginning of a new era of unity and harmony that transcends differences and pros and cons.'' .
President Moon said, ``Rather than being buried in the past and fighting each other, it is time for us to boldly work together toward the future.''Especially given the many challenges facing us, we must strive for national unity and humility.'' There is an urgent need for inclusiveness."
[Excerpt above]
Moon Jae-in's words have an abstract meaning: the people will come together as one and create a new era.
It is said that Moon Jae-in himself was the one who created the cause of the nation's division in the first place. The main argument of the opposition parties is that Moon Jae-in became president after taking advantage of Park Geun-hye's impeachment, and that the current left-wing government is the one that carried out various schemes surrounding the impeachment.
There are many people who feel that it is strange that this pardon was decided for the exact same reason as the previous pardon was not granted.
In South Korea, the president is arrested every time there is a change of government. Perhaps because of the culture of grudges, there is a history of retaliation for retaliation.
Many people take this to mean that Moon Jae-in is asking for a pardon and the charges against him to be reduced.
Moon Jae-in's term remains until next year's presidential election. Many people seem to feel uncomfortable about being pardoned at this timing.
Masatoshi Muto, a former diplomat, says that making concessions to South Korea is a mistake and that South Korea needs a firm response.
Masatoshi Muto on his dealings with South Korea during his time as a diplomat. He says that he made a mistake by listening to everything and requesting as much as possible.
When asked about the anti-Japanese movement taking place in South Korea, Taro Aso, during his time as Prime Minister, asked, ``Does that have something to do with it?'' Japanese people don't care. As a result, the term ``virtual enemy country'' became popular. The view was that South Korea was conducting an anti-Japanese movement due to domestic circumstances.
There is no doubt that South Korea's current enemy is primarily North Korea. The Korean War is not over yet, and there is currently a ceasefire. When we see public opinion in South Korea calling Japan an enemy country while facing each other across the 38th parallel, we can't help but wonder to what extent South Korea is escaping reality.
When considered within the same framework, China is on the side of South Korea's enemy in the Korean War frame. Until now, the South Korean government has not been able to resolve security issues, and has abandoned its military and continued to focus on Japan, which has not fought back, because if it expressed hostility toward North Korea, China, or the United States, it would immediately take retaliatory measures. It's here. This is to gain the public's attention by saying something powerful. In doing so, it is easy to use stories from the past annexation era. Japan understands this environment and has tacitly tolerated South Korea's anti-Japanese movements.
What we need to clarify is that all of these environments are always real problems for South Korea. It seems that as long as Koreans remain anti-Japanese, they can temporarily feel as if their problems are gone. Even now, when the anti-Japan flag goes up, I forget everything due to a spinal reflex.
President Yun Seok - Yeol was criticized for not demanding an apology from Japan during Korea Liberation Day! Countries demanding an apology on the day the war ended.
Enthusiasm to repair Japan-Korea relations
A country that expects grudge festival on the day of the end of the war
It is clear that it will change again if the government changes
Promises between Japan and South Korea that have been repeatedly broken
Background of countries that fail to keep their promises
It appears that President Yun Seok-Yeong's speech at Liberation Day is under attack. It is said that he only shouted for freedom 33 times in his speech on Liberation Day, but did not hear a single word demanding an apology on the 77th anniversary of Liberation Day.
In the first place, it can be said that it is abnormal that 77 years have passed and an apology is still being requested at a national ceremony.
Every country holds some type of event on Victory Day or the End of World War Day, but avoid using expressions that suggest that the country is still considered an enemy country. This is a matter of course if there are diplomatic relations, which is international common sense.
Will Israeli President Herzog give a speech on the anniversary of the end of the war, saying that Jews still hold a grudge against Germans? It can be said that this is a completely meaningless political action.
In any case, although President Yun Seok-Yeong's desire to improve Japan-Korea relations is highly commendable, even if we make some kind of promise with him, we have no idea what will happen once his term ends.
In Japan, it has been reported that the agreement between Japan and South Korea was broken during the era of former President Moon Jae-in, but diplomatic relations were restored in 1965, and the Japan-Korea Joint Declaration was issued in 1998, and concrete Japan-Korea exchanges were established. have started, but they are already in an invalid state. The Japan-Korea Joint Declaration collapsed within two years.
In other words, the fact remains that South Korea is not in a position to keep its promises. Therein lies the essential problem. The best-selling book Anti-Japanese Tribalism written by Korean professor Lee Yong-hoon describes anti-Japanese as shamanism that goes beyond logic. It is truly an anti-Japanese religion.
