Japan May Skip Summit with S. Korea at Osaka G-20

Tokyo, April 15 (Jiji Press)--An increasing number of Japanese government officials are calling for forgoing bilateral talks between Japanese and South Korean leaders on the occasion of the Group of 20 summit in the western Japan city of Osaka in late June. Some believe that it would be better for Japan to skip a bilateral summit with South Korea this time as there are no signs of an improvement in the relationship between the two countries. "Nothing has been decided," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference on Monday, commenting on the possibility of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in holding a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the June 28-29 summit of the 20 advanced and emerging economies. On the fringe of the G-20 summit, Abe plans to hold bilateral talks with leaders of the United States, Russia and other participating countries. But "it would be difficult for a Japan-South Korea summit to take place under the current circumstances," a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. A high-ranking government official echoed the view, since the bilateral relationship has deteriorated partly over a series of rulings by South Korean courts, including the supreme court, that ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to South Korean plaintiffs who were requisitioned to work in Japan for the firms during World War II. As the South Korean government has failed to take action to rectify the situation, the Japanese government is apparently considering retaliatory measures, informed sources said. To make matters worth, the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body last week announced a final ruling tolerating South Korea's import ban on Japanese fishery products, introduced after the March 2011 severe nuclear accident in Japan, in a reversal of an earlier verdict by the Geneva-based trade watchdog's Dispute Settlement Body that the South Korean measure amounted to unfair discrimination. Japan remains frustrated at an incident last December in which a South Korean warship allegedly directed its fire-control radar at a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol plane over Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan. Another source of friction is Seoul's decision last year to liquidate a South Korean foundation for supporting so-called comfort women, who were allegedly forced into prostitution for Japanese troops before and during World War II. The foundation was set up based on the December 2015 bilateral accord to resolve the comfort women issue. Still, some Japanese officials have stressed the need to improve the Tokyo-Seoul relations because collaboration among Japan, South Korea and the United States is vital for dealing with North Korean issues. "Dialogue between Japan and South Korea remains important," a Foreign Ministry official said. "We still have time" to arrange a Japan-South Korea summit, the official added, expressing hopes that Seoul will make concessions before the upcoming G-20 summit. END