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South Korean President Moon Jae-in walks away from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the two leaders briefly shake hands during the G20 Osaka summit on June 28. (Yonhap News)

The Japanese government has effectively rejected South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s request for sincere deliberations about tightened controls of exports of semiconductor and display materials to South Korea. In contrast, Keidanren (Japanese Business Federation), Japan’s largest economic organization, has said that it will continue exchange with the South Korean business community amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

During a press conference following a meeting of Japan’s cabinet on July 9, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko said that the new restrictions on exports to South Korea are “not a topic for deliberations.”

“We’re reassessing domestic operations to ensure we’re managing exports appropriately. We have no intention of withdrawing the controls,” Seko said. Considering that Moon had asked Japan the day before to retract the controls and to engage in bilateral deliberations, Kyodo News concluded that Seko’s comments represented a rejection of the possibility of deliberations with South Korea.

During the regular government briefing, also on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, spokesperson for the Japanese government, made remarks that were substantially the same as Seko’s. “These measures represent a reassessment of operations inside Japan that are necessary for managing exports appropriately. They’re not a topic for deliberations, and we’re not considering withdrawing them either,” Suga said.

“As South Korean officials in charge of managing exports are asking for confirmation of the facts related to this reassessment, we intend to respond at the administrative level,” Suga said.

But according to a report by Kyodo News on July 9, Keidanren Secretary-General Masakazu Kubota said during a July 8 press conference, “Exchange between [the South Korean and Japanese] business communities is still continuing, and we hope that it will continue in the future as well.”

During the same press conference, Kubota also said that Keidanren intends to hold its regular meeting with the Federation of Korean Industries this coming November, as already planned. In effect, Keidanren’s attitude differs from that of the Japanese government.

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

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