By It is good to see South Korean President Lee Myung-bak trying to urge Koreans to move forward with a future oriented relationship with Japan, which is actually in the best interests of both countries:
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak urged South Koreans Monday, on the anniversary of a popular uprising for independence from Japanese colonial rule, “not to be bound by the past.”Noting that this year marks the centennial anniversary of Japan’s colonization of Korea in 1910, Lee said that instead of focusing on the past, South Koreans must “embrace the world, forge ahead to a new future of common prosperity for mankind.”
Though the president did not explicitly discuss South Korea’s relations with Japan, his remarks amounted to a reconfirmation that the two countries should forge a future-oriented relationship, without forgetting history but instead using it as a mirror.
“We can’t take even a step forward if locked in the obsolete frame of ideology. We can’t go on the path of advancement if the people remain divided due to confrontation and conflict,” Yonhap News Agency quoted the president as saying in an address during a ceremony held to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the March 1 uprising for independence. [Breitbart]
Statesmanship really from both sides of the Korea-Japan disputes has been rare so it is good to see President Lee trying to influence popular opinions within Korea in regards to Japan. However, all it will take is some right wing ultra-nationalist in Japan to say something stupid that the Korean ultra-nationalists can jump all over to start another round of Japan bashing that will make President Lee’s overtures all for naught.
2:40 pm on March 1st, 2010 1
I don't think such statesmanship is all that rare. ROK President Kim Daejung and Japanese PM Obuchi had recently forged a similar "future-oriented policy" (see here). It was Koizumi and Roh Moohyun pandering to nationalist elements on the right and the left, respectively, which torpedoed the Kim-Obuchi agreements.
7:06 pm on March 1st, 2010 2
Japan and Korea are becoming irrelevant next to China. They should work together to stop China's sphere of influence.
4:14 pm on March 4th, 2010 3
Korean conservatives lean towards Japan. Korean liberals lean towards China, has been the case for 60 years.
There isn't much incentive for either the Japanese or Koreans to move forward on this issue. For Japan especially that would necessarily recognizing what the rest of the world knows about the Fascist history of Imperial Japan.
There certainly are no significant economic costs for the status quo, Korea and Japan being among each others' largest trading partners. Nor much of a cultural cost since the 2 nations are influential with each other in that area.
Greg you're right about that. Unfortunately, strengthening ties between Korea and Japan (and Taiwan) would also necessarily mean exercising some amount of liberation from the US as well, which to us (Americans) isn't in our own national interest
11:29 am on March 10th, 2010 4
I always wanted to know how a Japanese born Korean could become president?
Is there nothing in the constitution that stipulates that presidential candidates should be born in Korea?
Theoretically "Bill Gates" could run for president. He already had an official post in the Korean cabinet.
I do agree, Korean, Japan, and China need to start working together if they are going to be remain competitive. The European Union was created in order to prevent the "Yellow Horde" from asserting any type of dominance. The E.U has been trying t convince Russia into joining as well. Turkey is the next country under consideration.
(Yellow Horde is what Prince Phillip publicly referred to the Chinese as.)
The NAFTA agreement is not as solid as the E.U but you get the picture.