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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) shakes hands with US President Donald Trump when the two leaders met in Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in April. (AFP)

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is arranging a visit to Singapore early next month. Furthermore, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reached an agreement in a phone call with US President Donald Trump to hold a US-Japan summit before the North Korea-US summit is held. The Japanese government appears bent on achieving as much of its hardline agenda toward North Korea as possible before the North Korea-US summit, which is scheduled for June 12.

On May 29, Kyodo News reported that Kono is adjusting his schedule so that he can visit Singapore on June 9, following a trip to Malaysia on June 8. The news service said that the objective of Kono’s visit to Singapore is to meet key officials in the city-state and ask them to provide information about the North Korea-US summit. The Yomiuri Shimbun also reported that, if plans for the North Korea-US summit are finalized for June 12 in Singapore, Kono may look into the option of extending his stay and meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will accompany Trump to the summit.

Provided that progress is made on the North Korean nuclear issue during the North Korea-US summit, the Japanese government is planning to arrange a meeting between Kono and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting, which will be held in Singapore from Aug. 1 to 4, Kyodo News reported on May 29.

During a phone call with Trump on the previous evening, on May 28, Abe reportedly agreed to hold a US-Japan summit prior to the North Korea-US summit. The Japanese government is looking into holding the meeting prior to the G7 summit, which is being held in Canada on May 8 to 9.

“We shared the view that Japan and the US are definitely linked, and we agreed to work together as part of a joint plan to ensure that the North Korea-US summit is meaningful,” Abe said after his phone call with Trump.

“I told President Trump about the stories and the feelings of the family members of the abductees [Japanese abducted to North Korea] whom I met today. I spoke of the absolute necessity of resolving the problem [of the Japanese abductees]. President Trump promised that he would deal with [the abductee issue] during the North Korea-US summit,” Abe said.

“The President and Prime Minister affirmed the shared imperative of achieving the complete and permanent dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and ballistic missile programs,” the White House said in a press statement of its own.

The Japanese government has consistently maintained that the North Korean human rights issue (including the abductees), biological and chemical weapons and ballistic missiles need to be part of the agenda of the North Korea-US summit. Japan’s hardline stance has become a considerable obstacle to the summit.

The reason the Japanese government has leapt into action on various fronts prior to the North Korea-US summit is because the issue of the abductees and the North Korean threat have turned Abe into a leading right-wing politician. After the abductee issue blew up following the visit to Pyongyang by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Sept. 2002, Abe gained considerable popularity by riding a wave of popular indignation that brought him to power for the first time (Sept. 2006–Sept. 2007).

Even now, Abe places great importance on the abductee issue, which he has described as “the greatest priority in Japan’s foreign policy.” Reflecting this attitude, Abe promised once again to tackle this issue during a meeting with family members of the abductees prior to his telephone call with Trump on May 28.

Another factor is the election of the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, which will be taking place in September. Amid escalating scandals over a private school, Abe finds himself in a position where his reelection is no longer a sure thing. What he needs at such a time is North Korean misbehavior – missile launches and nuclear tests. During the election in the House of Representatives in Oct. 2017, the Abe government won a resounding victory thanks to fear about North Korean missile launches. Considering that the Abe administration has taken full advantage of the North Korean threat, it would like to check progress toward the peaceful mood on the Korean Peninsula that could be brought about by the North Korea-US summit.

Should the North Korea-US summit prove to be a success, Abe is expected to set up his own summit with the North. The Sankei Shimbun reported that Abe made comments during his meeting with the abductees’ families on May 28 to the effect that a North Korea-Japan summit would be necessary to reach a final solution to the abductee issue, quoting someone who was present at the meeting.

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

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