TOKYO: Japan plans to make clear it will uphold an apology to its neighbours over past aggressions, as part of efforts to improve ties with South Korea, if Seoul finalises a solution to compensation for forced wartime labour, a government source said on Saturday.
Tokyo is considering a show of remorse based on past statements, such as by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in 1995, as the two countries enter the final stage of talks on the contentious issue following a recent proposal by South Korea.
Seoul said this month it was considering having a South Korean foundation compensate lawsuit plaintiffs instead of two Japanese corporate defendants over alleged forced labour during Japan’s colonial rule.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to work for an “early settlement” of the wartime labour issue when they met in November at the East Asian Summit in Cambodia. It was the first official in-person contact between the leaders of the two countries in almost three years.
Japan has maintained that all issues stemming from the 1910-45 colonisation of the Korean Peninsula were settled “completely and finally” under a bilateral agreement signed in 1965.
Tokyo-Seoul ties reached their lowest point in years over the wartime labour issue and others during the tenure of former South Korean president Moon Jae In, replaced by Yoon in May.
Senior foreign ministry officials from the two countries are expected to meet on Monday in Seoul over the issue, according to the South Korean government.
South Korea’s proposal was made during a public hearing in Seoul. One of its senior officials then said Japan needs to “sincerely maintain and inherit the deep apology and remorse” that it has already expressed.
The statement by Murayama, issued on the 50th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, has been repeatedly mentioned by successive cabinets as the government’s basic stance.
Murayama said Japan “caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations” through its colonial rule and aggression, stating his “feelings of deep remorse” and “heartfelt apology”.
But the South Korean plaintiffs have demanded that Japan issue a fresh apology and pay compensation for forced labour and other abuses. As a result, the revised proposal by the Seoul government has triggered a harsh backlash from their supporters and opposition parties.
Japan regards the proposal from Seoul as a positive move, the source said. It also is looking at allowing Japanese firms to donate to the South Korean foundation as long as demands for money from the two defendants — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Nippon Steel Corp — are dropped.
In 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court ordered the two Japanese companies to pay damages to the plaintiffs. But they have not complied with the decision as they heeded the Japanese government’s position that the rulings violate international law.
