The South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeolwill visit Japan from this Thursday in order to meet with the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, in a moment of bilateral approach thanks to the plan to settle the dispute over the victims of Japanese colonialism.
Yoon will be in Japan until the 17th and is expected to arrive in Tokyo on Thursday morning and hold a bilateral summit with Kishida in the afternoon of that same day.
His visit will be the first by a South Korean president to Japan since late 2011, and comes after Seoul last week unveiled a agreed plan with Tokyo to compensate people enslaved by Japanese companies during the World War II.
“This trip is an important step forward for bilateral relations and that both countries can move towards the future together instead of being in a confrontation over the past.”, Yoon said in an interview published on Wednesday by the Japanese news agency kyodo.
Yoon also stressed his intention to hold a dialogue with Kishida “as often as necessary, without restrictions of formalities or time” and that he expects collaboration with the country in order to resolve some of his historical quarrels.
The aforementioned plan marks a significant shift in the bilateral relationsdeteriorated since the 2018 decision of the South Korean Supreme Court which recognized the right to receive compensation for 15 South Koreans who were forced to work without pay for two Japanese companies during the Japanese occupation of the peninsula.
The proposal to compensate those affected has, however, aroused criticism from some victims or their families, as well as from South Korean society, as it is based mainly on a fund financed with money from South Korean and non-Japanese companies.
According to a recent survey published by the analysis company gallupa 59% of South Koreans would be against this compensation systemwhile another 64% consider that “there is no rush” when it comes to improving relations with the neighboring country.
Japan, for its part, sees this visit as “important for take steps to solve problems in the international community”, according to what the Japanese government spokesman said on Wednesday, Hirokazu Matsuno.
“Since the Yoon government was born, close communication between the two countries has been maintained and we cooperate closely in the trilateral relationship with the US in the defense and strategic fields,” Matsuno added.
Ties between neighboring countries hit their lowest point in decades during South Korea’s previous liberal government of the president. Moon Jae-in. The relationship is expected to improve under the Yoon Administration, which has ensured that the two countries are capable of resolving “past and future issues” simultaneously.
After the summit and a joint press conference scheduled for Thursday in Tokyo, both leaders will dine on sukiyaki -veal cut very thin and cooked over low heat- and omurice -fried rice accompanied by a French omelette and very popular among Japanese children- in the exclusive Tokyo neighborhood of Ginza, according to what the local media have advanced.
On Friday, Yoon will meet with Yoshihide Sugaformer Japanese prime minister and future leader of a multidisciplinary group to promote ties between Japan and South Korea, as well as Taro Aso, also a former prime minister and vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
That same day, the South Korean president will meet with businessmen from both countries and give a lecture at Tokyo’s Keio University to students of Japanese and Korean Studies, after which he will return to Seoul.
(With information from EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com