Moon's War-End Anniversary Speech Welcomed in Tokyo

Tokyo, Aug. 15 (Jiji Press)--South Korean President Moon Jae-in's speech on Thursday, the 74th anniversary of the end of World War II, was welcomed by Japanese government officials as suggesting a change of his hard-line attitude toward Japan. The presidential address struck a "very moderate tone, compared with his recent remarks," Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a press conference on the day. The day's speech and the president's statement marking a "comfort women" memorial day on Wednesday both contained "little anti-Japan rhetoric," a senior Foreign Ministry official pointed out. In the speech, Moon said, "If Japan chooses the path of dialogue and cooperation, we will gladly join hands." Moon, however, did not mention the issue of wartime labor, which, along with the issue of comfort women, or wartime prostitutes, mainly Koreans, for the then Imperial Japanese military, is at the center of tensions between the two Asian neighbors. Within the Japanese government, there is a consensus that no improvement in the bilateral relations is expected unless the South Korean government takes action to resolve the wartime labor issue. Tokyo claims that last year's South Korean Supreme Court rulings ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation to South Korean plaintiffs in wartime labor lawsuits violate the 1965 war-related claims right agreement between the two countries. "It's important for South Korea to fulfill its obligations (under the bilateral agreement)," a different Foreign Ministry official said. "We won't accept a verbal call for dialogue if no concrete action follows," another Japanese government official said. Also in the speech, Moon called for advancing friendly bilateral ties through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. But it remains uncertain whether a top-level South Korean official will attend the "Sokuirei-Seiden-no-Gi" ceremony in October to declare new Japanese Emperor Naruhito's enthronement, which will be held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. END