Tokyo: Relations between South Korea and Japan will hinge on how Seoul's ties with Washington are reshaped in the aftermath of the upcoming impeachment ruling of President Yoon Suk Yeol, a Japanese expert has said. Hiroshi Umeda, an assistant professor at the Institute of World Studies at Japan's Takushoku University, shared his outlook, noting many experts in Japan believe there is a likelihood of a power shift to the opposition in South Korea, if Yoon's impeachment is upheld by the Constitutional Court.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Umeda emphasized the importance of the South Korea-U.S. relationship in determining the future of Seoul-Tokyo ties. He mentioned that if the relationship between South Korea and the U.S. deteriorates, it would create a challenging situation for South Korea-Japan relations. Umeda, a Korea expert, highlighted concerns among some Japanese observers regarding the potential election of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung due to his party's hard-line stance on historical issues with Japan.
Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have improved following the Yoon government's March 2023 decision not to seek compensation from Japan for Korean victims of wartime forced labor. Despite concerns, Umeda expressed that there is no clear reason to believe Lee would make Japan-Korea relations contentious at this point.
Umeda also addressed the potential impact of the Trump administration on South Korea-Japan relations, suggesting that the two countries could collaborate on common issues such as defense-cost sharing with the U.S. He noted that while Trump's actions can be unpredictable, cooperation between South Korea and Japan might ease potential tensions over financial matters.
Highlighting the importance of bilateral exchanges, Umeda advocated for institutionalizing dialogue frameworks between Seoul and Tokyo to enhance mutual understanding. He suggested that creating a structure for regular party-to-party exchanges could facilitate practical negotiations and make it easier to address difficult discussions that government-to-government negotiations might not cover.