hankyoreh

By Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent and Park Byong-su, staff reporter

A delegation from the National Assembly demanded an explanation about a report that ran in a Japanese weekly paper claiming that Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe had criticized South Korea as being a “silly country.”

A delegation of South Korean lawmakers led by Seo Byeong-su, currently in Japan to represent South Korea at the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee, issued the statement on Nov. 15.

“The Japanese government must be fully aware of the negative impact that the article in question could have on bilateral relations. We strongly urge Japan to immediately reveal what happened and to take responsible measures,” the statement said.

Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun ran a report in its latest Nov. 21 issue (printed on Nov. 14) in which Abe was quoted as saying, “China is an absurd country, but you can still engage in reasonable diplomacy with it. South Korea on the other hand is just a silly country.”

Seeming unfazed by the controversy, Abe made an appearance at the joint assembly of the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee, which was held at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo on Nov. 15 to deliver some remarks.

“I would like to continue increasing cooperation between Japan and South Korea as we build a forward-looking and multi-faceted relationship,” Abe said.

This was the third day in a row that Abe attended events related to South Korea, signifying his intention to improve relations between the two countries.

He had an interview with Lee Byung-kee, the South Korean ambassador to Japan, on Nov. 13, and attended a meeting with the Korean delegation to the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee on Nov. 14.

Launched in 1969, the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee is an organization that brings together figures from the legislative, financial, and cultural sectors of South Korea and Japan to discuss how the two countries can work together.

The governments of both countries seemed to be trying to keep the situation under control. At a press conference held on the afternoon of Nov. 15, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “South Korea is an important neighbor that shares our fundamental values.”

“Various reports have been published [about South Korea], but the official position of the Japanese government is that the prime minister could not have made those remarks,” Suga said.

“The Japanese government has maintained that the comments were not made and that these are irresponsible media reports while also expressing its regret,” said an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The South Korean government does not feel the need to comment about these preposterous reports,” the official said.

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