Japan says S Korea has failed to justify removing Tokyo's fast-track trade status

Well, this cross-removal will be discussed at the WTO anyway.

Seoul had failed to explain its reason for the latest move in an escalating trade row.

Oh come on, everyone knows the reason why! Both Japan and SK are playing tit-for-tat games that are hurting the livelihoods of people on both sides!

Neither are going to take a step back, and BOTH need a time-out!

DRAM prices in Japan shot up 20% after Korea removed Japan from its white list, due to the fear of DRAM shortage.

DRAM prices in Japan could easily double and triple if Korea actually decided to restrict export to Japan.

I'm not sure how Seko can be in charge of anything related to trade yet,

"From the start, it is totally unclear under what basis South Korea can say that Japan's export control measures don't meet the export control regime," Seko said on Twitter.

He nails it completely.

I wonder if Tokyo help SK by removing itself from SK's whitelist and let them keep their own exports. As these types of toxic relationships are not beneficial for anyone.

Will this also mean slower shipments of K Pop albums to Japan? If so, just wait till the big Korean entertainment agencies kick up a fuss as their sales and profit margins drop! (Majority of sales are through bulk buying within the first week of the album being released)

LOL. So South Korea gets taken off Japan's whitelist and goes crying to the WTO. And now SK takes Japan off it's own whitelist. While Japan says that the reason they removed SK was because they found 156 security violations,. which SK has admitted, SK has no reason to take JPN off their list. Childish pathetic country, but definitely pretty funny to watch squirming as a result of it's own actions and behavior.

Call a spade a spade. At least the Koreans and Prime Minister Abe can admit the restraints, excuse me, trade management measures, are over the war time labor dispute. Cut the metaphysical justification and get on the same page: all this stems from the history of Japan and Korea.

@KariHaruka

Will this also mean slower shipments of K Pop albums to Japan?

K-Pop albums in Japan are pressed in Japan.

How did Japan justify removing South Korea from their preferred trade partners again? And with that I mean without bringing up the historical row issues.

This is beginning to look dire for future relations between the two. It might be completely destroyed if we don't see a shift in both nations stance on the issue. A change of goverments should be a great way to start a new era!

Will this also mean slower shipments of K Pop albums to Japan?

K-Pop albums in Japan are pressed in Japan.

Well I guess that means the only Korean export that Japan really cares about is safe.

Abe and Moon are both idiots. Using economics to further a political agenda is never wise. It will only obfuscate the real root of the political problem and exacerbate it even further because now you've added money into the mix. A broader part of the population will become affected by the economic impact and only paint both parties into their own corners. Japan now has a a travel advisory on Korea and the next tit for this tat will be Korea's travel advisory to Japan. No doubt Moon will probably use an Olympic boycott as his last hand, maybe even in cahoots with Kim, a united Korea against Japan.

”How did Japan justify removing South Korea from their preferred trade partners again? And with that I mean without bringing up the historical row issues.”

Japan’s Trade Ministry had some questions about certain items and the amount imported to Korea and requested their counterparts to discuss about them. Despite numerous requests from Japans side, Korea refused to meet with them for three years . Japan gave a deadline again sometime in early July but was again a no show.

As to concerns about Korea’s control system , Japanese Ministry states,

“According the stipulations in the actual Korean legal documents that serve as the basis for the ROK catch-all system, the ROK’s catch-all control only covers weapons of mass destruction (WMD) / missile related goods. Therefore, Japan recognizes that the legal basis for the ROK’s assertion that it has introduced a conventional weapons catch-all control is unclear.

In addition, although Japan has an ongoing e-mail correspondence channel with the ROK with regard to the ROK's export control system, METI has yet to receive a detailed explanation of the ROK’s catch-all control from the Korean side.”

South Korea would continue trying to resolve the issue diplomatically, he said.

Continue trying to resolve it diplomatically? When did they start??

Japanese government shouldn't say something about SK's action. Just keep silent and go to own way. SK can do anything they want. It's OK.

I’m pretty sure it has something to do with Japan refusing to share technology with SK.

Japan has always been paranoid about North Korea. Now, it seems they should also start to be concerned about South Korea. It not the same little shanty town that Japan invaded nearly a hundred years ago. There is a lot of pent up anger towards Japan due to right-wing extremists and propaganda. Japan has its own version of right-wing extremists and anti-SK propaganda as well. However, the biggest differences are, SK does not have a constitution that bans them from attacking another country and every SK citizen just two years military service after high school. I would not be surprised at all if this dispute escalated into a military conflict.

Lets hope it doesn't end up in a military conflict. That will cause a power shift in the region that will see South Korea under China control within 20-30years.

This is certainly getting far out of control for sure... very sad. These two countries should put aside their past and look at their similarities to counter the other much scarier present threats in the region.

For every tic there's a tac, but who'll toe the line ?

And Japan is exactly right.

Going on day 35 of the trade row reported on this website, the anti-Japan crowd has still not given one valid reason why South Korea deserved to stay on the white list.

By comparison, South Korea is clearly doing this in a childish display of tit for tat.

Details people might not know.

What S. Korea did its against the WTO Rules.

You lose any support at WTO by doing this, it's Tit for Tat and not allowed or supported at WTO.

PS

Japan recently back down by sending the necessary materials to S. Korea and by not adding any new Items to WhiteList and this is what Korea does.

Japan is right. This is a childish tit-for-tat by South Korea, led by desperate Moon.

SK have ZERO legal reason to remove Japan from fast-track trade status. I hope the Abe Cabinet will take SK to ICJ and/ or WTO over this.

yeah yeah,for you Japan is always right.

You totally lack of a neutral and fair judgement.

As other posters mentioned before both countries are not going to step down due to their cultural stubbornness.

This tug of war won’t benefit either countries.

It seems S Korea would fall in IMF care again before Japan gets a big damage from S Korea. S Korean won is declining seriously. It is only matter of time that its currency crisis comes. US and Japan would not help any more at the time.

Japan hit back at South Korea on Tuesday for removing Tokyo's fast-track trade status, with the industry minister saying Seoul had failed to explain its reason for the latest move in an escalating trade row.

Sounds like what SK said about Japan recently.

But according to JT posters, no reason is required for a country to remove another from its white-list privilege status for exports? Why does SK need to provide one now?

TSK, TSK! All these imaginary downvotes to appease the people who pay the bills here!

But according to JT posters, no reason is required for a country to remove another from its white-list privilege status for exports? Why does SK need to provide one now?

Exactly!

So, hang on a second... Japan can impose trade barriers based on security claims they refuse to back up with proof, and they can remove SK from their "preferred" trade list, but if SK does the same in response Tokyo starts crying victim again? TIJ

Don’t need proof. If Japan misunderstood the inconsistencies as provided by METI, onus is on ROK to explain ,convince, apologize and even beg Japan to get back to the preferential status. That’s kind of hard to do when it’s ROK that keep refusing to meet with the Japanese counterparts. This isn’t a right but a privilege that Japan and only Japan can give.

Only one crying whining singing dancing n cheer leading with banner here is SK

Cartoonist Dahl depicts in The Japan Times the current Japan-ROK trade spat as two men, Abe and Moon. aiming at each other reversely by slingshot, entitled: "Tit for tat for tit for tat for..."

South Korea signaled plans on Monday to remove Japan from a list of countries with fast-track trade status from September, citing problems with export control measures.

Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said Seoul had failed to show how Japan had purportedly fallen short of international export control measures.

"From the start, it is totally unclear under what basis South Korea can say that Japan's export control measures don't meet the export control regime," Seko said on Twitter.

Japan hasn't fallen short. They're just parroting Japan in an obvious retaliation to Japan's justifiable earlier actions. South Korea are being incredibly immature here, and the proof is in the total lack of explanation as to how Japan is allegedly failing. South Korea would be less subtle if they had come out and straight-up said they were retaliating.

How does Japan go from bully to victim on this?

They are not now, nor were they ever the bully in this matter. They revoked South Korea's preferential treatment status due to South Korea's rising nationalism, anti-Japanese sentiment, and due to it breaking the articles of the treaties it signed back in 1965 to normalise ties with Japan. They've proven themselves to be untrustworthy, and proven themselves unfit for preferential treatment. Japan acted appropriately, and now South Korea is responding in a very Trump-like manner.

Fox Sora: "Japan hasn't fallen short. They're just parroting Japan in an obvious retaliation to Japan's justifiable earlier actions"

How are they justifiable? They have yet to prove their claims, which coincidentally fell on the exact time SK citizens demanded things from their former slave handlers.

"They are not now, nor were they ever the bully in this matter."

Ah, that's right, they are the weak victim.

"They've proven themselves to be untrustworthy"

Japan, yeah... for more than 75 years.

"Japan acted appropriately,"

No, they did not. But hey, if you can provide the proof for the security reasons Japan started this with, feel free.

Fox Sora: "and now South Korea is responding in a very Trump-like manner."

What are you talking about? If they were responding in a Trump-like manner, Abe would be licking their boots in heat.

In politics often there is no need for justification, as any explanation will be in doubt, anyway.

Call it what it is.. a vain effort at retaliation.

In life "One-up-manship" really gets no where but down. Facts and truths always expose the reality and the "intent".

In the final analysis, it all comes down to "Do we really want and need what they want to sell us?"

Then, where else can we get the same items?

So fast track or not it really is based upon urgency of need.

And if there is a choice of suppliers, then choose the one that "cooperate" and is "reliable".

nigelboy: "Don’t need proof."

You never do.

"onus is on ROK to explain ,convince, apologize and even beg Japan to get back to the preferential status."

Not SK begging here, it's Japan. Oops.

I c that means all the protestors r Japanese n can write korean placard n protest in japanese embassy in SK

Who decides, tick for tack.

So, hang on a second... Japan can impose trade barriers based on security claims they refuse to back up with proof, and they can remove SK from their "preferred" trade list, but if SK does the same in response Tokyo starts crying victim again? TIJ

Right. Let's just gloss over the 156 export violations to North Korea that South Korea admitted that they detected. Other than that, Japan has absolutely no proof.

“Not SK begging here, it's Japan. Oops.”

I doubt Japan is. I’ll even go further and say that Japan will never come close to reacting the same way Koreans have.

But Koreans making this move essentially put themselves in a hypocritical situation if they choose to file a complaint with WTO.