Marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, Korean and Japanese people wish reconciliation

It turned out that the people’s affinity toward each country between Korea and Japan has hit the bottom. The survey conducted by the Dong-A Ilbo and Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper in commemoration of the 50th anniversary for normalization of diplomatic ties showed that only 6 percent of Korean people responded that they like Japan while 10 percent of Japanese expressed their favorable attitude toward Korea. Some 50 percent of Koreans displayed their antagonism toward Japan while 26 percent of Japanese people did so. Given the results, it’s hard to deny that the historical revisionism initiated by the Abe administration has widened the psychological distances between the two nations.

It is also true, however, that Koreans’ past-oriented perception remains as an obstacle to better the bilateral relations. When asked whether they believe that problems with past history including Japan’s colonialism have been resolved, 95 percent of Koreans said “No,” while 49 percent of their counterpart said “Yes.” As for the issues related with comfort women, 95 percent of Koreans appeared to believe that they are important matters to be resolved while only 53 percent of Japanese ones said so.

Despite this widely-held antagonism toward each country, it should be noted that 87 percent of Korean people and 64 percent of Japanese ones expressed their wishes for improved bilateral relations. It means that people from the two nations are mature enough to recognize the need to make better relationship although each government is at odds and the two share some issues that can’t easily be accepted due to emotional distance. The survey which was jointly carried by the representative newspapers of both countries is also a part of the effort to exactly access the situation and thus, find way to resolve the conflict.

Under the circumstances, the responsibilities rest with the two governments to make come true the wishes of their people who are calling for reconciliation. On Thursday, Japanese media reported that, up for the first visit of Yoon Byeong-se, Korea’s foreign minister, to Japan, the two nations are working to reach an agreement to resolve comfort women issues, the heart of the bilateral problems. “Japan will be persistent in explaining its basic stance to Korea and ask for its understanding,” said Yoshihide Suga, Japanese minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, demonstrating the conflicting views between the two. The talk between the two foreign ministers on June 22 would bear productive results only when Prime Minister Abe gives up his wrongly-held perception that comfort women were only the victims of “human trafficking.”

Marking the 70th anniversary of its defeat in World War II and 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Seoul, Tokyo is now given a good opportunity to remedy the bilateral relations. The two nations are advised to hold a summit meeting in a timely manner and seek for ways to cooperate in security and economy under the current Northeast Asian landscape.