Japan’s snub of talks with South Korea on sidelines of Nato summit a ‘missed opportunity’

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida’s move comes apparently out of concern it would be viewed poorly by voters ahead of the Upper House election

But analysts say his reluctance to appear ‘soft’ on historical issues is ‘short-sighted’ amid growing security challenges in the region from China, North Korea and Russia

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Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Photo: Pool via Reuters

Published: 4:43pm, 27 Jun 2022

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has turned down one-on-one talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the sidelines of this week’s Nato summit in Madrid, apparently out of concern that a meeting would play poorly with voters ahead of the July 10 election for the Upper House of Japan’s Diet.

Analysts, however, say Kishida’s snub of his South Korean counterpart represents a “missed opportunity” that could trigger renewed antagonism in Seoul, which has been working hard to rebuild bridges with Tokyo since Yoon came to power in May.

Kishida and Yoon will take part in a three-way summit in Madrid with US President Joe Biden, but the South Korean leader had been hoping for a face-to-face meeting with his Japanese counterpart. Yoon is due to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands while he is in the Spanish capital.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will take part in a three-way summit with US President Joe Biden (right) and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida in Spain. File photo: EPA-EFE

“Kishida does not want to be seen to be going along with the South Korean leader’s request for a meeting as it would make him seem weak, to be making concessions,” said Akitoshi Miyashita, a professor of international relations at Tokyo International University.

“The feeling in Tokyo is that the ball is in South Korea’s court and that they are waiting for Seoul’s responses on the issues that have been causing so many problems in recent years, such as the ‘comfort women’, forced labourers and Korean courts that have found in favour of Korean plaintiffs and confiscated the property of Japanese corporations,” he said. “If Kishida agreed to talks without these issues being settled, then there would certainly be people in Japan who would criticise that he was weak.”

Japan is also unhappy that a South Korean government surveying vessel was spotted operating close to disputed islands in the Sea of Japan earlier this month. The islands are controlled by South Korea and are known there as Dokdo, but are claimed by Tokyo, which refers to them as Takeshima.

“The Japanese people are, I think, divided,” Miyashita said. “Conservatives insist on seeing any sign of rapprochement towards Seoul as indicating weakness.