Japan lifts export controls on South Korea

Japan will end export controls on materials for semiconductors destined for South Korea, and Seoul will withdraw a complaint filed with the World Trade Organization, the countries announced Thursday. Trade ministries from the two sides made the announcement as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Tokyo for a summit with Japan’s prime minister intended to rebuild ties between the two neighbours.

Tense relations between Japan and South Korea reached a nadir in 2018 after a South Korean court ordered Japanese firms to compensate victims of wartime forced labour and their families.

Japan’s trade ministry said in a statement it had decided to lift the curbs and return to the “special general blanket permit... as was the case prior to July 2019”.

“We confirmed that the Korean side will announce the withdrawal of a petition to the WTO regarding Japan’s export controls,” it said, a provision that was confirmed by the trade ministry in Seoul.

Japan rejected the 2018 South Korean court ruling, arguing that colonial-era disputes were settled in 1965. Diplomatic ties were normalised that year and Tokyo gave Seoul loans and economic aid worth some $800 million, the equivalent of several billion dollars now.

The two sides imposed tit-for-tat trade measures and halted cooperation on several fronts as ties frayed.

South Koreans also mounted a widespread boycott of Japanese goods, including beer, cosmetic products and cars. Yoon is visiting Japan after announcing a plan to compensate victims of forced labour without any direct involvement by Tokyo.

The rapprochement between the Asian neighbours, both key US allies, has been welcomed internationally but the forced labour compensation deal has spurred opposition inside South Korea. Japan and South Korea announced the end of tit-for-tat trade measures and pledged renewed diplomacy as leaders of the two countries met in Tokyo Thursday for a summit to thaw long-frozen ties.

The neighbours, both key US partners in the region, have for years been locked in a bitter dispute over Japan’s use of wartime forced labour.

Relations deteriorated after South Korea’s Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to compensate victims of forced labour, but this month Seoul announced a plan to pay those affected without Tokyo’s involvement.

President Yoon Suk Yeol has been keen to end the spat and form a united front against regional challenges including North Korea, which launched a long-range missile just hours before Yoon’s arrival in Tokyo.

After talks, he and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the resumption of “shuttle diplomacy,” with the leaders agreeing to regular reciprocal visits to build confidence.

Japanese media said this could include Kishida inviting Yoon to the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May, and then visiting Seoul.

“Strengthening Japan-South Korea ties in the current strategic environment is urgent,” Kishida told reporters at a joint press conference with Yoon after talks.

“I hope this visit will nurture trust and friendship and significantly elevate Japan-South Korea relations.”

In a potent reminder of the security challenges that have pushed Seoul and Tokyo closer together, North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile just hours before Yoon’s arrival.

“As seen from North Korea’s long-range ballistic missile launch this morning before I left for Tokyo, North Korea’s ever-increasing nuclear missile threat poses a great threat to peace and stability,” he said.

“Korea and Japan must closely cooperate in solidarity to wisely deal with these illegal threats.”

The two neighbours are US allies and economically developed democracies, but their relations have long been poisoned by history, particularly atrocities committed during Japan’s 35-year colonial rule, including the use of wartime sex slaves -- euphemistically termed “comfort women” -- and forced labour.

Japan rejected the 2018 Supreme Court ruling, arguing that colonial-era disputes had been settled in 1965, when diplomatic ties were normalised and Tokyo gave Seoul loans and economic aid equivalent to several billion dollars today.

However, Yoon’s election, and growing concerns about North Korean sabre-rattling as well as Chinese military power, have driven momentum for reconciliation.

“South Korea can no longer afford to keep squabbling over specific bilateral issues,” Yuki Asaba, a professor of Korean studies at Doshisha University, told AFP.