New Prime Minister Confirms Japan’s Stance on Historical Issues with Korea

There may be a new Prime Minister in Japan, but he has clearly told Korea that he is not budging on historical issues between the two countries:

President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have reaffirmed that the two nations are far from narrowing the differences in their views on historical issues such as Japan’s wartime forced labor and sex slavery.

The leaders had their first phone call Friday, which was made 11 days after Kishida took office. During the 30-minute call, the two agreed to develop bilateral ties in a future-oriented manner, according to Cheong Wa Dae and Japanese media report.

They also discussed other issues such as concerns over North Korea, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and COVID-19 response.

Although the two U.S. allies share similar security concerns over North Korea and China, their talks again showed disagreement over lingering colonial and wartime issues, signaling these are likely to remain as obstacles for bilateral relations for a while.

Japan insists that the 1965 treaty normalizing bilateral ties settled all war-related compensation, but President Moon explained during the phone call how the two countries have different legal interpretation over the 1965 treaty, saying the two nations must find solutions through diplomacy. 

Regarding the wartime sex slavery issue, he also called for an urgent solution, saying there are only 13 known survivors still alive.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it is ironic that President Moon is saying there needs to be an urgent solution for the comfort women issue when in fact there was one under former President Park Geun-hye. However, when President Moon entered office he scrapped the deal.