Japan, S. Korea Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Normalization

Tokyo, June 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan and South Korea marked the 50th anniversary on Monday of the signing of the treaty that normalized the diplomatic relationship between the two Asian countries. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye underlined the importance of bilateral relations at memorial ceremonies hosted in Tokyo and Seoul by the respective governments. The two leaders each expressed intentions to improve the bilateral relationship, which has soured over history and territorial issues. "Let's create a new era by looking back over the last 50 years' history of friendship and by looking at the 50 years to come," Abe said at the ceremony in Tokyo that was hosted by the South Korean embassy in Tokyo. Abe also said that he wants to work with Park to improve bilateral relations. Citing South Korea as the most important neighbor country and a nation sharing many strategic interests, Abe said "strengthened cooperation between Japan and South Korea is indispensable for peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region." At the ceremony in Seoul, Park said that the two countries should utilize the 50th anniversary as a turning point for new cooperation and a future of mutual harmony and benefit, adding that this is their responsibility for future generations. With the issue in mind of so-called comfort woman, who were forced into prostitution for Japanese troops before and during World War II, Park said that it is important to take off the heavy burdens of history issues so that this year can be a start to building the future. Japan and South Korea signed the treaty in 1965, decades after the end of the war due to differences over recognition about Japan's colonization. In a statement issued in 1993, Yohei Kono, then Japan's chief cabinet secretary, admitted the involvement of the Japanese Imperial Army in the comfort woman system and offered an apology. In a joint declaration signed by then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 1998, the two countries said they would strengthen a future-oriented relationship. In the declaration, Obuchi apologized for the suffering Japan had inflicted on Korean people in the past. But the bilateral relationship deteriorated after the 2012 visit by then South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to islets disputed by Japan and South Korea and the spread of hate speech against South Korean residents in Japan. Although Abe and Park have yet to hold a bilateral summit since taking office, in December 2012 and February 2013 respectively, there have been signs of improvement recently. At a meeting held in Tokyo on Sunday, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se agreed to cooperate so that sites recommended respectively by the two countries are added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The agreement came after South Korea opposed Japan's campaign to have such sites related to Japan's Meiji era industrial revolution included in the list, claiming that Koreans were forced to work at some of the sites during the war. END