Members of an anti-Japanese civic group hold up placards and shout slogans as they rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Friday, in protest of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo a day earlier. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soon



National Assembly to adopt anti-Abe resolution



By Chung Min-uck

Seoul will overhaul its diplomatic policy line toward Tokyo and put on hold meetings with ranking Japanese government officials in the wake of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Yasukuni Shrine, government officials said Friday.

The government will pursue all diplomatic efforts possible to increase pressure on Japan for its "anachronistic" viewpoint of its imperial history represented by Abe's visit to the shrine in Tokyo that honors the country's war dead, including Class-A war criminals during World War II (1939-45).

"We have been trying really hard to stabilize relations with Japan but Abe's Yasukuni visit has ruined our efforts," said a foreign ministry official, Friday. "Seoul-Tokyo relations remained at a low-ebb and I believe the status quo is likely to continue or even become worse."

Insiders say vice-ministerial strategic talks between Korea and Japan, which were on the verge of being held despite strained bilateral ties, is likely to be postponed without a time limit.

They said Seoul will step up its call for Tokyo to atone for the sexual enslavement of Korean women for its troops and other atrocities committed during the colonial rule of Korea.

They also say Japan's latest provocation is sure to impede ongoing discussions about holding a Korea-Japan summit, which has been delayed because of Japan's refusal to acknowledge its historical misdeeds.

Seoul has been adopting a two-track approach of making no concessions on historical issues, but adopting a forward-looking attitude in dealing with other affairs when dealing with Tokyo.

But observers say Abe's Yasukuni visit may have changed all that.

According to ministry officials, Seoul is seeking to join with other Japan-victimized countries, mainly China, as well as international bodies such as the United Nations to put further pressure on Japan.

Meanwhile, leaders of the ruling and opposition parties ― in a rare example of unity ― called Friday for an anti-Abe resolution, which is expected to be adopted early next week.

"The National Assembly should adopt a resolution to denounce Abe for his silly act, together with the other peoples of Northeast Asia," ruling Saenuri Party floor leader Choi Kyoung-hwan said, adding that Abe stands to lose more than he will gain from his nationalistic actions.

Choi's main opposition Democratic Party counterpart, Jun Byung-hun, proposed that the National Assembly adopt an anti-Abe resolution on Monday, saying Abe's visit to the shrine represents a provocation against peace in Northeast Asia and demanding that the Japanese government apologize.

Experts say the U.S. holds the key to resolve the ongoing conflict in Northeast Asia prompted by Japan.

"Washington must further raise its voice in deterring Japan from moving towards the right," said Hong Hyun-ik, an analyst at the Sejong Institute. "U.S. strategy in Northeast Asia is centered on trilateral cooperation between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. But now the strategy is about to be twisted because of worsening Seoul-Tokyo relations.

"The U.S. is also responsible for Japan's unreflecting attitude by supporting its move to collective self-defense."

The U.S. State Department on Thursday reiterated Washington's explicit disappointment regarding Abe's act, in what observers view as a possible change in Washington's attitude toward its main Asian ally.

"The U.S. is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbors," Jen Psaki, the department's spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement.

The statement contains exactly the same wording as that issued by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo earlier.

The U.S. has refrained from commenting openly on Japan's consistent refusal to acknowledge its past misdeeds.

Abe became Japan's first prime minister to pay homage at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo since 2006.

The shrine honors 2.5 million war dead, including 14 people convicted as criminals by a 1948 war tribunal and is considered a symbol of Japanese imperialism to its neighbors, including Korea and China.