hankyoreh

Former Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono

Former Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono said Tokyo should attempt to normalize relations with North Korea first instead of continuing to emphasize a resolution on the issue of abducted Japanese nationals.

Speaking about the recent North Korea-US summit in a talk in central Tokyo on June 13, Kono said he could “sense how peace has gotten closer after the dialogue between [the two sides],” adding that it was “meaningful and great,” the NHK network reported.

He went on to direct a message at the current Japanese administration.

“What Japan needs to do know is apologize for colonizing the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

“In terms of South Korea, it has apologized and provided economic support, yet it has not done either with North Korea, as it does not have diplomatic ties with it,” he continued. “We should do the same for North Korea as we have done for South Korea.”

Kono also spoke about the abductee matter, which has become the biggest issue between North Korea and Japan.

“There is a very serious issue with the abductions, but it will not be solved if we simply say, ‘Give them [the Japanese abductees] back, give them back’ to a country we have not normalized relations with, when the colonization issue has not been resolved,” he said.

“We should normalize relations between one country and another and go through the procedures [to resolve the abductee issue],” he suggested.

Kono’s message expressed criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has emphasized the abductee issue without attempting to normalize relations with North Korea. In contrast, Kono called for first negotiating a normalization process with Pyongyang, addressing the abductee issue as part of that process.

As former Chief Cabinet Secretary, Kono delivered the so-called “Kono Statement” in 1993 acknowledging the use of coercion and Japanese military in the mobilization of comfort women. He has remained a critic of the Abe administration’s attempts to pursue an amendment of Japan’s Peace Constitution. His son is current Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

After the first-ever North Korea-US summit, calls have been erupting in Japan for Tokyo to negotiate its own normalization of relations with Pyongyang and hold a North Korea-Japan summit. Many calls argue for normalization from a different perspective from Yohei Kono, who posited it in terms of addressing and atoning for Japan’s postwar legacy.

Some claim that with the US not fully addressing the issue of intermediate-range missiles capable of threatening Japan – and even raising the possibility of downscaling US Forces Korea – Japan needs to seek its own resolution to security concerns through talks with North Korea.

Family members of Japanese abductees have called on Tokyo to negotiate directly with Pyongyang, noting that the Japanese government’s reliance on the US has not led to a resolution. Hitomi Soga, an abductee who was returned to Japan during a 2002 visit to North Korea by then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, was quoted by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper as saying, “I don’t think either North Korea or the US understands the situation faced by the abductees’ family members.”

“We can’t continue allowing this problem to drag on. I hope Prime Minister Abe will hold a North Korea-Japan summit and take action,” Soga added.

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]