FOCUS: Japan-S. Korea lawmaker group in limbo, exchanges with S. Korea halted+

SEOUL, Feb. 14 Kyodo -
South Korean and Japanese lawmakers have for decades got together to promote
bilateral ties and iron out rocky political issues, but they have been out of
the limelight since the change of government in Japan last year.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada have
both visited South Korea since their Democratic Party of Japan came to power
last September, but the Japan-South Korean parliamentary league has remained
practically in limbo.
The Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union and its South Korean counterpart, the
Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, had been scheduled to hold a joint general
meeting in Tokyo last year but it has been called off.
The Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union has even shut down its website.
The paralysis at the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union apparently stems from
the fall of the Liberal Democratic Party and the emergence of the DPJ at the
helm of government.
With the LDP remaining in power almost continuously for more than five decades,
the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union had always been led by former LDP prime
ministers since it was established in 1975.
Former LDP Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who was appointed to the chairmanship
of the union while the LDP was in power, continues to occupy the post,
frustrating the DPJ's attempts to put its own man in the top job.
In line with other parliamentary groups set up to promote bilateral ties with
foreign countries, the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union is a cross-party
group with members drawn from both the ruling and opposition camps.
In parallel to government-to-government contacts between the two neighboring
countries, the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union and its South Korean
counterpart have contributed toward an improvement in bilateral ties.
Apart from regular exchange of visits by the top leaders of the unions,
lawmakers from the two parliamentary groups have helped lower political
tensions that from time to time have gripped the two countries, mostly as a
legacy of acrimonious historical ties between the two countries.
With the Japanese union paralyzed by political bickering between the LDP and
the DPJ, the South Korean parliamentarians have urged their Japanese
counterparts to put their house in order, arguing that the two countries need a
parliamentary channel to promote ties.
Lee Sang Deuk, elder brother of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and head
of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, met Japanese Foreign Minister Okada
in Seoul on Thursday and called for the early resumption of activities between
the two unions.
After it came to power, the DPJ pressed its claim for leadership of the
Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union, saying the union, though possessing a
cross-party membership, should be led by a legislator from the party in power.
According to South Korean sources, the names of two prominent DPJ politicians
-- Takahiro Yokomichi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and Satsuki
Eda, president of the House of Councillors -- are being passed around as
potential candidates for the chairmanship of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians'
Union.
Mori, who served as prime minister from April 2000 to April 2001 and has strong
connections with South Korean politicians, has given little indication that he
is ready to step down as chair of the union.
Kang Chang Il, a South Korean legislator and member of the Korea-Japan
Parliamentarians' Union, said the Japanese side of the inter-parliamentary
grouping must resolve its internal problems and resume bilateral exchanges.
''Our two parliamentary groups serve as political pipelines between our two
countries,'' Kang said.
==Kyodo
2010-02-14 21:45:06