Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (center) is boarding a government plane at Tokyo Haneda Airport on the 8th to visit five of the seven major G7 member countries. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seung-jin] The Sankei Shimbun reported on the 28th, citing multiple sources, that the Japanese government is considering easing export restrictions on South Korea.
The Japanese government has reportedly begun reviewing the easing of export controls, taking into account the increasingly tense security environment and the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's demand to reinstate South Korea on the export management preferential "white list" (list of white countries) as part of efforts to improve Korea-Japan relations.
Previously, in July 2019, Japan regulated exports of three key semiconductor and display materials, including hydrogen fluoride, to South Korea, and in August of the same year, removed South Korea from the white list. This was a retaliatory measure against the South Korean Supreme Court's ruling on forced labor compensation.
The Sankei Shimbun added that the Japanese government plans to carefully consider South Korea's reinstatement on the white list after observing the resolution of the forced labor compensation issue.
Earlier, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official also stated, "If a solution to the forced labor issue is announced, it is naturally expected that Japan's export restrictions on South Korea will be lifted," indicating that the outcome of negotiations on the forced labor issue will likely determine South Korea's return to the white list.
However, while the South Korean government emphasizes that a "sincere response," including apologies and compensation participation from Japanese companies, is necessary to resolve this issue, Japan maintains the position that the forced labor compensation issue was already settled by the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement.
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