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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Fears of Japan becoming “isolated” are resurfacing in the country ahead of a second North Korea-US summit on Feb. 27–28.

Commenting on the possibility of US President Donald Trump loosening economic sanctions against North Korea in a Feb. 10 column, the news agency Jiji Press predicted that this could mean “isolation for Japan, which has effectively waved the sanctions flag and pushed in the international community for other countries to sever ties with North Korea.”

On Feb. 9, Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, held discussions over lunch with US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon following Biegun’s return to Seoul after working-level talks in Pyongyang. But no high-level or head of state-level meetings are set to take place between Japan and the US ahead of the second North Korea-US summit.

Attempts to organize a meeting between Foreign Minister Taro Aso and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 15 - 17 were ultimately abandoned after Washington informed Tokyo that preparations for the summit would prevent Pompeo from attending. Responding to questions from reporters about coordination with the US on North Korea during a Feb. 10 visit to the Philippines, Kono attempted to counter the claims that Japan was being left out in the cold.

“We [the US and Japan] could be seen as like a rock,” he replied.

Prior to the first North Korea-US summit, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the US in April and June of last year to intensify coordination with Trump. No US-Japan summit is expected ahead of the upcoming North Korea-US summit, however. Speaking before the Diet of Japan on Feb. 6, Abe said, “Due to scheduling issues, an in-person meeting with President Trump is unlikely.”

“We are closely coordinating through telephone discussions on the [North Korean] nuclear/missile issue and the most important issue to us, namely that of abductions [of Japanese citizens to North Korea],” he added.

Amid the recent thaw in North Korea-US relations, Abe has repeatedly voiced his willingness to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and emphasized his commitment to normalizing relations with the North.

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

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