Japan-South Korea Ties Plunging into Quagmire

Tokyo, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)--Already soured relations between Japan and South Korea are plunging into a quagmire, as Tokyo decided Friday to remove South Korea from its list of trusted trade partners and Seoul announced plans to take similar action against Japan. Behind the looming tit-for-tat trade conflict is Tokyo's frustration with Seoul's alleged negligence of its obligations under a 1965 bilateral pact, regarding recent South Korean Supreme Court rulings against Japanese companies over conscripted labor during World War II. The removal of South Korea from the trusted country list is "aimed at having South Korea understand Japan's anger," a senior Japanese government official said. The lack of a response from Seoul to the wartime labor issue "amounts to an act of undermining the post-World War II international order," Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has argued. South Korean President Moon Jae-in reacted furiously to the apparent retaliatory measure by Tokyo. "We will never again lose to Japan," Moon said at a cabinet meeting, referring to Japan's past colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. "We will never overlook such circumstances where Japan, the instigator of these wrongs, is turning on us." After being removed from the list, South Korea will no longer be entitled to preferential treatment in Japan's export controls. The decision by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration came after over 95 pct of public comments received by the industry ministry over the last month indicated support for the trade measure against South Korea. Still, the Abe administration appears eager to fend off possible criticism from the international community that the measure against South Korea runs counter to efforts to safeguard free trade. "We decided to withdraw the privilege we have given only to South Korea among Asian countries," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stressed at a press conference on Friday. He insisted that the just-decided measure is neither a trade embargo nor a retaliatory step. Tokyo is also worried about a U.S. response to the Japanese measure, after Washington's reported bid to mediate between its two Asian allies. "We are providing detailed explanations to the United States," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said Friday. Meanwhile, Seoul has suggested it is willing to leave its military information-sharing pact with Tokyo, a move that would likely provoke a backlash from Washington. Japan's tightening of export controls could cause temporary confusion for 97 pct of shipments from Japan to South Korea, accounting for nearly 10 pct, or about 52.5 billion dollars, of South Korea's overall imports, U.S. financial giant Goldman Sachs has estimated. The tighter export controls are seen hitting hard the South Korean electronics and semiconductor industries, the backbone of the South Korean economy, according to Goldman Sachs. Within the Japanese government, there are concerns that the trade restrictions could force major South Korean manufacturers to step up efforts to procure needed components and raw materials at home or from other countries, leading to a fall in demand for Japanese products. END