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Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a press conference on May 11, 2022, following his appointment. (Yonhap)

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reiterated its claims that the island of Dokdo is Japanese territory, while stating that there have been no changes in its plan to register the Sado mine complex for UNESCO World Heritage status.

While Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may have shared repeated remarks about “continuing to communicate in order to return Japan-South Korean relations to a sound footing and work to develop them,” these actions show that Tokyo’s basic stance hasn’t budged in terms of its unwillingness to make any changes on matters that threaten to make relations rocky.

On Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi delivered a foreign affairs speech before the Diet of Japan. In it, he asserted that “Takeshima” — Japan’s name for the Dokdo islets — is “an inherent part of the territory of Japan both in light of historical facts and based on international law.” He also declared that Japan planned to “deal with the issue in a resolute manner.”

His remarks were a repeat of the same outrageous claims that Tokyo has been making for 10 years since a 2014 speech by Kishida, who was foreign minister at the time.

Commenting on Japan’s renewed UNESCO World Heritage status application for the Sado mines in Niigata Prefecture — a setting where Koreans were drafted into forced labor during Japan’s colonial occupation — Hayashi said the government would “play a steadfast role.”

On the matter of the Sado mines, Japan has been attacked by critics for deliberately erasing the history of forced Korean labor by limiting the period for its application to the time between the 16th and mid-19th centuries. UNESCO did not conduct a review for the mines last year, citing a lack of explanation from Japan about the associated heritage.

Last Friday and Monday, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued spokesperson’s statements protesting Japan’s plans to register the Sado complex and Hayashi’s remarks concerning Dokdo.

But Japan’s current attitude suggests little possibility that it will show consideration for South Korea as a partner on the potentially sensitive issues that are expected to arise in bilateral relations during the first half of 2023 — including the announcement of authorized school textbooks and plans to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. Instead, it looks poised to simply stick to its existing stance.

It is deeply regrettable to see the way Japan’s administration is focusing only on its domestic political interests while refusing to squarely confront the past. More worrying still is the way the Yoon Suk-yeol administration seems to be feeding into this attitude with the hastiness of its attempts to improve ties with Tokyo.

At a roundtable on solutions for the forced labor mobilization issue on Jan. 12, the South Korean government unveiled plans for the “simultaneous assumption of liabilities” by way of the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan. Afterward, Kishida referred during a US visit and in his Diet speech Monday to achieving a “resolution as swiftly as possible.” He also made his remarks about “returning relations to a sound footing.”

The questions surrounding whether Japanese companies will be apologizing or taking part in the compensation have caused an intense outcry from the victims.

We hope both governments bear in mind that as things like Japan’s claims about Dokdo and the Sado complex registration push keep happening, they raise fundamental questions about whether Tokyo truly views its neighbor South Korea as an equal — and they make it more difficult for our two sides to establish a forward-looking relationship.

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