Despite ferocious opposition, Japanese and South Korean leaders meet in Tokyo.
Despite protests and condemnation for neglecting history, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with visiting South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on this occasion on Thursday.
Tokyo, Japan | BAZZUP | Despite protests and condemnation for neglecting history, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with visiting South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on this occasion on Thursday.
Yoon, who is in Japan for two days, met with Kishida at the Prime Minister’s Official House. It was the first meeting between the two leaders to take place in Japan in almost five years.
Yoon’s visit came after he took action to settle the disagreement about laborers during the conflict. A local foundation would raise money for South Koreans who were compelled to work for Japanese corporations during World War II and would pay the compensation that a South Korean court order required of Japanese companies, according to a plan that South Korea had previously stated.
Yoon’s idea has been stirring up animosity at home and was also met with fierce opposition in Tokyo.
Japanese citizens protested against the Japan-US-South Korea military alliance in front of the official residence on Thursday night, disregarding history in the process. They held placards that read, “Japanese companies and the government should apologize and compensate for forced labor,” and “No to the Japan-U.S.-South Korea military alliance.”
A protester remarked that it was “absolutely unacceptable” for the South Korean and Japanese governments to resolve the historical dispute in full through an intergovernmental agreement while ignoring the victims and those who were forced to work under cruel conditions.
In addition to denying historical truths, the Japanese government plans to form a military alliance with South Korea and the US and start a new war. We vehemently oppose and demonstrate,” added another local.
According to local analysts, public support for the restoration of Japan-South Korea relations is lacking, and anti-one another emotions continue to predominate in both nations.
By using formal “shuttle diplomacy” by the presidents alone, it is difficult to bridge the enormous divide between the two countries on historical topics like forced labor and “comfort women,” according to analysts.
