Published on January 25, 2020. Through Sankei Shō, this article discusses the background to Japan–South Korea relations, now said to be at their worst since the war. It looks back on Japan’s past concessions to South Korea over issues such as comfort women and textbooks, and contrasts them with the present, in which the Moon Jae-in administration’s pro-North Korea and pro-China posture has become clear, raising the fundamental question of whether South Korea is truly a member of the Western liberal camp.

January 25, 2020
To put it plainly, the reality that it is doubtful whether South Korea is truly a member of the same Western liberal camp as we are has become clear, as if the fog had lifted.
The following is from today’s Sankei Shō.
Japan–South Korea relations are now said to be in the worst state since the war.
“We need to restore Japan–South Korea relations quickly. I will make the utmost effort to that end.”
Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, who said this, reportedly intends to organize a delegation of about 1,000 people to visit South Korea this summer, but there is surely no need to rush so much to repair relations.
In the past, when South Korea criticized Japan over issues such as the comfort women issue and the textbook issue, the Japanese government, out of a sense of atonement for the past, accepted even unreasonable demands as though they were only natural.
The reason that changed is probably that both the government and the people have come to look calmly at the nature of South Korea as a country and understand its reality.
Especially since the advent of the Moon Jae-in administration, which clings closely to North Korea and cannot raise its head before China, South Korea’s difference, which had previously been overlooked or treated lightly, has become visible.
To put it plainly, the reality that it is doubtful whether South Korea is truly a member of the same Western liberal camp as we are has become clear, as if the fog had lifted.
“It is China’s internal affair.”
Mr. Moon is said to have made this statement last December, in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, regarding Hong Kong, where pro-democracy demonstrations continued, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The South Korean presidential office explained that he had only made a statement to the effect that he had listened carefully to Xi’s related remarks, but is that really so?
On the other hand, at the Japan–China summit meeting held the same day, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed concern over the Hong Kong issue and also referred to China’s repression of the Uyghurs.
After the meeting, a senior Chinese government official reportedly complained endlessly to a senior official of Japan’s Foreign Ministry, saying, “Mr. Moon said it was an internal affair, but Prime Minister Abe…”
“Japan is not a tributary state of China.”
The Foreign Ministry official replied in this way, but this shows that South Korea under the Moon administration and Japan do not share values.
Keeping a certain distance from South Korea is just about right.