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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe referred to South Korea as a “country sharing the same basic values” for the first time in six years in his policy speech on Jan. 20. At the same time, he went on to say that he “looks forward to keeping our promises from one country to another,” signaling no change in his position that Seoul is responsible for resolving the issue of forced labor mobilization survivors. The policy speech is a major address by the Japanese Prime Minister to announce his or her plans for governing in the year ahead.

Delivering the speech on the opening day of the Diet’s regular session on Jan. 20, Abe described South Korea as Japan’s “most important neighbor, sharing the same basic values and strategic interests.”

“It is for that reason that I very much look forward to keeping our promises from one country to another and building a future-oriented bilateral relationship,” he continued.

As late as his 2014 policy speech, Abe followed the precedent of past Japanese administration in referring to South Korea as Japan’s “most important neighbor sharing the same basic values and interests.” But after frictions between the sides began intensifying in 2015 over the Japanese military comfort women issue, he omitted subsequent references to South Korea as a “country sharing the same basic values.”

In 2018, the year the Moon Jae-in administration came to office, Abe also omitted the reference to South Korea as a “country sharing the share strategic interests.” With his policy speech last year, which came after a South Korean Supreme Court ruling ordering compensation for forced labor mobilization, he “snubbed” South Korea outright by not mentioning it at all. The expression “sharing the same basic values” refers to South Korea sharing the same basic values as Japan in terms of democracy and the rule of law, while the expression “sharing the same strategic interests” alludes to the need for bilateral cooperation on the North Korea issue. Abe’s turnaround from a deliberate slight last year to a “conditional” return to his wording from six years ago was seen as signaling that Japan does not want relations with South Korea to deteriorate any further.

But the real emphasis of Abe’s speech can be seen in the subsequent sentence about “look[ing] forward to keeping our promises from one country to another.” Since the first South Korean Supreme Court decision in October 2018 upholding a ruling to compensate forced labor mobilization survivors, the Japanese government has argued that the decision was in violation of the two sides’ 1965 Claims Settlement Agreement and insisted that South Korea was violating international law and should honor its promise to Japan. According to this position, the matter of forced labor mobilization survivors is something for the South Korean government to resolve -- leaving the ball in Seoul’s court. Abe’s policy speech shows that this position remains unchanged.

“At the South Korea-Japan summit in December, they talked about restoring their relationship and resolving [the forced labor mobilization issue] through dialogue, so you could see [the content] as having been attuned to that,” said Nam Ki-jeong, a professor at the Seoul National University Institute for Japanese Studies.

“It could also be a pressure tactic -- a way for Japan to say that since they’ve begun referring to South Korea again as their ‘most important neighbor sharing the same basic values and strategic interests,’ it’s up to South Korea to resolve the forced labor mobilization issue,” he suggested.

Lee Young-chae, a professor at Keisen University, said that Japan “does not want to allow relations with South Korea to sour further ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.”

“It means that they’re going to manage the crisis, but it also means Japan does not intend to make any concessions,” he said.

“The emphasis is on the part about ‘keeping promises,’” he added.

On the topic of North Korea, [Abe] said his aim was to “resolve all issues with North Korea based on the North Korea-Japan Pyongyang Declaration and resolve our unfortunate history so that we can normalize our relationship.” While his policy speech last year mentioned “meeting myself with [North Korean State Affairs Commission] Chairman Kim Jong-un and taking bold action rather than letting the opportunities slip,” Abe did not emphasize his commitment to holding a North Korea-US summit in this year’s speech -- a difference that appeared to reflect the current stagnation in dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.

Abe also reiterated his intention to amend the current Peace Constitution.

“The Constitution is what states the form of a country. It is the responsibility of our Diet members to determine what sort of country we should aspire to be for the future,” he said.

“As we enter a new era, we should be fulfilling our responsibility together in the Constitution review meeting [within the Diet of Japan] to confront the future and fulfill our historical mission,” he urged.

At the opening of his policy speech, Abe stressed that the Summer Olympics would be held in Tokyo in 2020.

“For the first time in half a century, that stirring experience [of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo] is returning to our country,” he said.

In a foreign affairs speech the same day, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said, “With regard to the biggest current task between Japan and South Korea, namely the issue of workers from the former Korean Peninsula [forced labor mobilization survivors], we intend to continue discussions between foreign affairs authorities to resolve the issue, while also strongly demanding that South Korea take responsibility for presenting a solution as clearly expressed by Prime Minister Abe to President Moon Jae-in [at their summit late last year].”

“Takeshima [Dokdo] is Japanese territory both in terms of historical fact and international law, and we intend to respond objectively and resolutely from this basic stance,” he also said.

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent, and Kim So-youn, staff reporter

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