Here is another development in the improving ties between South Korea and Japan:
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to visit South Korea later this month, in what appears to be a move to gain the upper hand over Seoul in trilateral relations between South Korea, Japan and the U.S.
Citing multiple government officials from both the South Korean and Japanese governments, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday that the prime minister will visit Seoul from May 7 to 8. It will be his first trip to South Korea since taking office.
The newspaper reported that the visit is aimed at responding to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Japan in March, during which the South Korean leader showed his willingness to improve chilled bilateral relations.
The South Korean presidential office did not confirm this, but admitted that “consultations are ongoing” over the prime minister’s visit to South Korea.
If it takes place, the visit will be the first by a Japanese prime minister since February 2018, when Shinzo Abe made one on the occasion of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics here. In terms of bilateral diplomacy, however, it will be the first visit since October 2011, when Yoshihiko Noda visited Seoul for a summit with then-South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
President Yoon reasons for pushing forward cooperation with Japan for security reasons make perfect sense considering the hostile neighbors South Korea is surrounded by. Why not make friends with the one neighbor that doesn’t want to destroy or subjugate your country?:
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R), alongside first lady Kim Keon Hee, waves at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on April 24, 2023, as he embarks on a six-day state visit to the United States. (Yonhap)
President Yoon Suk Yeol reaffirmed his commitment to moving relations with Japan forward, saying in an interview published Monday that he cannot accept the notion Japan “must kneel because of our history 100 years ago.”
Yoon made the remark in an interview with The Washington Post, referring to Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea during which a series of atrocities were committed, such as mobilization of Koreans as sex slaves and for forced labor.
“Europe has experienced several wars for the past 100 years and despite that, warring countries have found ways to cooperate for the future,” Yoon was quoted as saying during the interview.
“I can’t accept the notion that because of what happened 100 years ago, something is absolutely impossible (to do) and that they (Japanese) must kneel (for forgiveness) because of our history 100 years ago. And this is an issue that requires decision. … In terms of persuasion, I believe I did my best,” he said.
Yoon also said South Korea’s security concerns were too urgent to delay cooperation with Tokyo, though some critics would never be convinced.
The reality has set in with South Korea’s youth that North Korea has become such a different country that unification is not likely:
This file photo, taken March 13, 2023, shows the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint industrial park in the North’s border city of Kaesong. (Yonhap)
About 60 percent of South Koreans in their 20s and 30s said unification with North Korea is not necessary, a survey showed Sunday, amid a prolonged impasse in inter-Korean relations and denuclearization talks.
The survey, commissioned by a civic media group called Barun Media Citizen Action, found that 61 percent of people in their 20s and 30s say Korean reunification is “not absolutely necessary.”
In comparison, 24 percent of them say unification with North Korea is “absolutely necessary.”
You can read more at the link, but the good news from this survey is that 67% percent of Korean youths had a positive opinion of the U.S. For Japan the number was 63% had a positive view which shows that all the politically demagoguery towards Japan has not caused the majority of Korean youths to despise the country.
Flying bomber jets with South Korean fighters is one of the typical U.S. responses to North Korean provocations. What makes this one different is that the Japanese joined in to make it a trilateral deterrence drill:
U.S. B-52 bombers flew with Japanese and South Korean fighter jets Friday in separate exercises as a show of unity intended to deter would-be adversaries, the Defense Department said Friday.
The joint aerial training comes amid elevated tensions with North Korea and China.
This is pretty wild that just months after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated that someone has attempted to kill current Prime Minister Kishida as well:
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated unharmed Saturday after someone threw an explosive device in his direction while he was campaigning at a fishing port in western Japan, officials said. Police wrestled a suspect to the ground as screaming bystanders scrambled to get away and smoke filled the air.
One police officer was slightly hurt and Kishida continued campaigning Saturday, but the chaotic scene was reminiscent of the assassination nine months ago of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which also came on a campaign tour and continues to reverberate in Japanese politics. Kishida was visiting Saikazaki port in Wakayama prefecture to support his ruling party’s candidate in a local election, and the explosion occurred just before he was to begin his speech.
A young man believed to be a suspect was arrested Saturday at the scene after he allegedly threw “the suspicious object,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. Matsuno refused to comment on the suspect’s motive and background, saying police are still investigating.
You can read more at the link, but no word yet on what this guy’s motive was for trying to kill Prime Minister Kishida. ROK Heads may remember the guy that killed Shinzo Abe was motivated by how the Korean Unification Church wiped out all the savings from his mother leaving him with no inheritance. Abe had ties to the church and the man killed Abe as revenge against the church.
Here is something both the PRC and DPRK do not want to see happen which means it is a positive development:
South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold a trilateral senior-level defense meeting in the U.S. later this week, an informed source said Monday, amid joint efforts to sharpen deterrence against North Korean threats.
The deputy minister-level Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT) is set to take place Friday (U.S. time), according to the source who requested anonymity. The last DTT session was held virtually in 2020.
The three sides are expected to discuss ways to flesh out last year’s summit agreement by their leaders to share missile warning data in real time to counter the North’s nuclear and missile threats.
I have been very critical about the claim of altitude sickness being the cause of the crash that killed two Japanese civilians by a U.S. naval officer. After reading this really good article from Military.com about the accident, I am more convinced then ever he just simply fell asleep at wheel:
Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis was driving his car, filled with his wife and their three children, down from the heights of Mount Fuji on May 29, 2021. It’s an iconic destination for both Japanese and foreign tourists alike, a peak that serves as a sentry over much of central Japan.
Alkonis and his family had taken the trip at the request of his second daughter, spending an hour near the summit before planning to go to a dairy farm in the foothills that sells pizza and ice cream.
As they descended the mountain, Alkonis felt something was wrong but chose to keep going because they were very close to the next town, he would later testify at his trial.
He lost consciousness right as the vehicle approached a roadside noodle restaurant, swerving into the parking lot and hitting three parked cars, pushing one into a fourth vehicle, before crashing into a fifth and final car. Between the layers of metal, two Japanese nationals, an 85-year-old woman and her 54-year-old son-in-law, were crushed. They both died.
Two members of the Alkonis family were taken to a local hospital, but the sailor himself did not receive medical attention. All have made a full recovery. Today, Alkonis sits in a Japanese prison, serving a three-year sentence after being convicted of negligent driving.
That’s the part of the story that no one disputes. It’s the other parts — why Alkonis lost consciousness, how he’s been treated in Japanese custody — that have drawn in lawmakers, led to accusations of a “false” conviction, and even put pressure on the legal agreement that governs U.S. service members’ presence in Japan.
The big thing to take from this passage is that he did not even go to the summit of Mt. Fuji which has an altitude of over 12,600 feet. Instead he just drove to one of the stations where hikes begin at about 7,000 feet. People travel to cities like Colorado Springs in the U.S. that is near 7,000 feet every day and you don’t see them crashing vehicles due to altitude sickness.
Additionally the accident happened in Fujinomiya which is almost near sea level. Altitude sickness gets better when losing altitude not worse. I think he got up early to drive to Mt. Fuji from his home in Yokosuka and simply feel asleep at the wheel after a long day of driving.
I highly recommend reading the rest of the article because the claims made by his wife and her Congressional supporters conflict with the facts of the case. The Japanese put a big emphasis on self responsibility and all the excuses is probably why he will not be released early.
