Japan initially paid Korea around $364 million as compensation to victims of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule, with $200 being allotted to each individual survivor, $1650 per each death, and $2000 per each injured victim. In 1965, the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea was signed, seemingly finalizing diplomatic relations between Japan and Korea post WWII, with Japan paying $800 million in total as "economic cooperation".
However, South Korea brought up the issue again in recent years, with its Supreme Court demanding that several Japanese companies pay grievances to South Koreans who were forced to supply labor during WWII. Japan on the other hand, argued that the issue of reparations and grievances was already settled and finalized in the 1965 treaty, sparking a great trade war between the two disagreeing countries. After nearly 4 months, Japan and Korea finally seem to have begun peace talks and an effort to a solution to this great issue.
1) On August 2nd, Japan removed South Korea from its list of favored trade partners. How do you think the US, being allies with both Japan and South Korea might be affected by this or might handle this issue?
2) How might Japan and South Korea go about mending relations?
3) What is your stance on the issue of grievances if there is any?
I don’t think that the US will be all that affected by the dispute between Korea and Japan because the issue is really just between the two countries and the US has no reason to get involved. The only real reason why the US should involve itself in this issue is to make sure things don’t escalate too far, like to prevent crippling economic sanctions on either country or to prevent violence between South Korea and Japan. I don’t even think there should be an issue here because Japan already tried to amend things and recognized that their actions were wrong. Also the issue in question is from over half a century ago; it was a long time ago when the world was different, so the Japanese government in power today isn’t the one that is responsible for the atrocities that were already seemingly rectified to an extent.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your first question, I do not think the US should be involved in this conflict. By taking sides with either Japan or South Korea, there is the possibility that more harm will be done than good. If the US decides to take sides, this will simply escalate the existing tension between the two. Additionally, I agree with Nathan that this issue shouldn't even exist because this issue has already been resolved through the treaty between Japan and South Korea in 1965. From my perspective, South Korea is attempting to squeeze out as much money in reparations as they possibly can.
ReplyDeleteI also do not believe the US should get involved as it is an issue that affects many of its citizens, but does not affect the government of the US itself. Taking action or commenting on the issue may cause unnecessary conflicts in the country. I believe that inorder to resolve anything, compromises must be made by both countries. Japan’s historic aggression and Korea’s continuous demands for more reparations puts the countries in a situation that makes it so both sides cannot get what they want. I believe that there are grievances that are severe and still affect and hurt many Korean people today; however, repeatedly asking for reparations that have already been paid is not reasonable. Whether the reparations were enough or not, they were paid and asking for more years later, although not many years, does not make sense.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I think that both countries need to move on from WW2 grievances. If the West and Germany settled their issues I don't see any reason the Asian countries are still dwelling on this. I understand that the people still feel as if they've been wronged, but there's not much Korea can do to Japan physically. Entering a trade war doesn't seem like it's good for either side, and is kind of becoming a go-to way to pressure for world leaders everywhere. I feel like this trend is pretty terrible and I hope it goes away.
ReplyDeleteJapan and South Korea are the USA's most important allies in east Asia. They are both home to many major US military bases, which are essential for the USA's strategic position in the region, specifically in opposition to China, the DPRK and Russia. Therefore, these nations having conflict with each other makes the situation very difficult for the US since it really needs both to cooperate. Therefore, the USA should incentivize them to mend relations.
ReplyDeleteAs Nathan stated, I do not believe that the US should become very involved in this issue because this is a matter of discord between Korea and Japan. That being said, I believe that this quarrel between the two countries is a bit unreasonable. While what happened during World War II was definitely wrong and horrible, this dispute seems to already be a thing of the past. The reparations were already paid back in 1965, and the problem should have ended there. Since this has been brought back up, the only solution has to be an understanding from both sides.
ReplyDeleteTo address the main issue at hand, it seems a little odd that South Korea is asking for reparations after so many years have passed since the war. Families in South Korea have no doubt suffered greatly from the atrocities that the Japanese committed during WWII, but it seems unreasonable for Japan to be paying reparations more than 60 years after the war’s end. While I definitely sympathize with Koreans that were forced to supply labor during WWII, I don’t think paying reparations now would be meaningful and be able to right past wrongs, especially since Japan has changed greatly since that time.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think the US should definitely remain neutral as it does not directly affect the US, only its allies. While the US has somewhat of a reputation of meddling in other countries affairs, they have no grievances with either side. However, if the US does take sides, it would only serve to worsen the already tense negotiations. I also agree that this issue should not be a problem because Japan and South Korea had previously already ironed out their problems in a treaty and reparations had already been paid making this seem especially unreasonable.
ReplyDeleteI don't this this issue concerns America. This is between Korea and Japan, so I believe unless people's lives are at stake or American people get involved, America should stay out. The grievances should have already been paid months after the issue, and it should have stayed at that. Why they are bringing it back after so many years is slightly unclear, but since they are addressing it now, they should be able to sort it out. With the treaty in place, both countries seem easily set on a path to peace.
ReplyDeleteI think the grievances between the two countries should come to an end now. I understand how bad this situation was, and Japan was definitely responsible in compensating for Korea. However, they gave a decent compensation and WWII has been over for a while now. I think the biggest thing for Korea to realize is the change in generation. When this terrible situation occurred during WWII, a different generation was running the country. Now, however, there is a newer and younger generation with many different ideals. I don’t believe they should be the ones to pay the price for issues previous generations created.
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