[Post Korea-Japan Talks 日Talk]② Former Prime Minister Hatoyama "Respect for Yoon's Decision... Both Countries Must Work to Resolve US-China Conflict"

Interview with Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
Japan Should Not Claim "Apology and Responsibility Are Over"
'Yoon Draws Attention by Requesting "Teacher of Korea-Japan Relations"'

"Whether Korea-Japan relations can truly move forward depends on Japan's future response. It is inappropriate to think that the compensation responsibility ended with the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement."

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama criticized the Japanese government for being excessively rigid regarding the recent Korea-Japan summit and the forced labor compensation issue in a written interview with Asia Economy on the 24th. He pointed out that in a situation where the long-stalled Korea-Japan relations have taken the first step toward improvement, the Japanese government should have completely resolved the claims issue.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Prime Minister Hatoyama said, "First, I pay tribute to President Yoon for making a great decision. It is a pleasure to see signs of progress in Korea-Japan relations, which had been retreating and stagnant," and emphasized, "I believe that not only realistic understanding and calculations but also the spirit of ‘Yuai (友愛)’ between the two countries underpinned this." Here, the spirit of Yuai refers to the concept of the three Northeast Asian countries?Korea, China, and Japan?forming a community through mutual respect, a concept that former Prime Minister Hatoyama also appealed for during his meeting with President Yoon in May.

However, he pointed out that the Japanese political world failed to properly seize the opportunity for improving bilateral relations first offered by Korea. Former Prime Minister Hatoyama criticized, "I appealed that Japan should show flexibility (not think that responsibility ended with the agreement), but the Kishida administration was afraid of backlash from the right wing within the party and could not make a decision." He criticized that the Kishida government merely represented the positions of past administrations on the claims issue without making any progress.

Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida responded to the Korean government's proposed solution to the forced labor issue after the summit by saying, "Regarding historical awareness, we have inherited the positions of past cabinets. We will continue to do so," drawing criticism even within Japan for sticking to an overly formal stance that did not advance beyond the positions of previous governments.

He added, "Whether this government proposal is sustainable ultimately depends on the acceptance of Korean public opinion," and emphasized, "The Japanese government and people should not think that ‘the past issues are over’ or that ‘if we stubbornly insist that the past issues are over without compromise, Korea will eventually give up.’"

Regarding future international affairs, former Prime Minister Hatoyama said, "Korea and Japan should not join the United States to contain China, but rather the two countries should work to resolve the conflict between the U.S. and China," adding, "If the two countries join the U.S. in efforts to contain China, the international crisis will deepen. On the contrary, I believe peace will be maintained if Korea and Japan take the lead in controlling the U.S.-China conflict."

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Hatoyama is a pro-Korea Japanese politician who knelt at Seodaemun Prison in 2015 to apologize for Japan's past colonial rule. In May, he was invited to President Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration ceremony and visited Korea, where President Yoon notably asked him to become a "teacher of Korea-Japan relations" during their meeting.