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© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.S Korea proposes U.N. probe over Japanese sanctions claims
By Tong-Hyung Kim SEOUL, South Korea©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
38 Comments
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WiseOneIn Kansai
Right, SK wants the UN or an international body to start an investigation!!
But it won't go to the ICJ over the Takeshima Islands.
But it won't participate in an arbitration panel over the 1965 bilateral accord.
You will get more respect from everyone if you stop playing childish games!!
smithinjapan
WiseOnein Kansai: "But it won't go to the ICJ over the Takeshima Islands."
This is a completely different situation, and in any case, they don't have to go to the ICJ over the islands because they belong to SK, plain and simple. We're talking about very serious accusations that have world-wide implications, not an island spat (and btw, Japan won't go to the ICJ over the Senkakus, will they?).
"You will get more respect from everyone if you stop playing childish games!!"
Pot meet kettle.
kwatt
Japan does not put sanction on S Korea. Japan just imposes very normal process on export documents to S Korea. This normal process had been done until 2004, because Japan can't trust S Korea again about many things have happened lately. Japan is only country can decide whether it can trust S Korea or NOT.
yoshi
It's not the decision from an emotional factor. It's the matter of national dignity.
oldman_13
When all else fails, the South Korean government and anti-Japan nationalists always loves to use it's ace card up its sleeve, comfort women/WW2 atrocities.
These people have been using this schtick for decades to try and gain world support in its petty arguments with Japan.
Grow up!
Kazuaki Shimazaki
The world lets them. Knowing what the world will let you get away with and what arguments (even unfairly) get an undue amount of weigh is sadly the mark of a grown-up. In this, South Korea is more mature than Japan, who often misreads or refuses to read the winds of the world.
(That's not to say Japan is wrong, more a criticism of the world and its unobjectivity).
SJ
I am sure Abe will refuse, exactly the same way as his defense minister refused to show any evidence on the ladar lockon allegation. They can not and will not face the truth. Obfuscation is their best strategy.
Ganbare Japan!
Stand firm, Japan! Stand up to bullies, PM Abe! The UN and Trump will be on the side of Japan, because SK CANNOT be trusted.
Crooked Moon has Communist connections (his family is from NK), so how can SK under Crooked Moon be strict about sanctions against NK? He is is NK sympathizer.
Heckleberry
@NotWiseOneIn Kansai - Why would they, when they already have ownership over the islands, a fact which is only disputed by one country in the world, and the rest of the world is fine with it or doesn't care enough to raise it as an issue. I'm afraid SK will administer the islands for the rest of your (and everyone else here's) lifetime. That is guaranteed.
englisc aspyrgend
Both sides need to grow up, move on and look forward to the future and not backwards and continually harping on real and imagined wrongs of the past. Purely driven by cynical self seeking politicians.
Heckleberry
Same posts have been posted over years and I agree with the sentiment.
The current situation was a result of a SK court decision, which dozens of posters on JT are saying should be overturned by the SK government, without a single poster suggesting just how the government of a democratic nation would be able to interfere with the judicial system.
Watch now as this comment gets downvoted by many, and no poster suggesting how it should be, or could be done.
quercetum
Cringe festival. Skip the melodrama and just talk.
OssanAmerica
Sorry South Korea but your usual victim mentality isn't going to work on this one. You brought this on yourself. And you can cry to the world but they aren't going to help you. The sheer hypocrisy of crying to the UN when South Korea is the only member of the alleged US-JPN-SK alliance that has broken UN sanctions against NK.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2019/04/03/korean-ship-detained-for-violating-sanctions-providing-oil-north/2DfDFiXx7tovxzcbcrmZuK/story.html
Peeping_Tom
Little rascals running for daddy, now their supposed advantages have been exposed as hot air.
TrevorPeace
This is how this Canadian outsider who's been to Japan every year since 2011. sees it:
The South Korean government and a limited number of vocal activists have a trenchant attitude towards Japan that's mind-numbing. The Japanese occupation ended after WW2. Japan helped rebuild South Korea's industry, after that. The comfort women issue was legally addressed in 1965 - two entire generations ago! The South Korean court that provided a guilty verdict and punishment to Japanese companies for what the South Koreans call 'forced labour' all those years ago should NEVER have even heard the case. It was political, period. So, if South Korea's leadership wants to do anything about the scaled up Japanese response, it should show some true leadership and declare the trial a sham.
Toasted Heretic
Aye. It can be difficult to move on from the past. Just look at the sectarian hatred in NI/6 counties on the "glorious 12th" (no coverage on JT because Irish people aren't an important demographic in Japan). What's needed is dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. One can live in hope.
thepersoniamnow
You know, you are starting to have more in common with ur northern neighbor than the rest of the international community SK
JustMyThoughts
Don't get any of the comments. In my mind, the USA, Japan, South Korea, Australia and others need to have a united front. I sort of think that someone with 'power' in the Japanese government wants to change things. Mabey they want closer relationships with China or Russia? Anyway, I may be wrong but all the same 'blah, blah, blah' is not very interesting.
Akie
JustMyThoughts, you must know that Japan and Korea are always closer to China, don't you ? That is the fate, as simple as that.
showchinmono
Change the constitution, Pass required bill, Sue Judges...... or who has to care their domestic condition
AlexBecu
Look at S. Korea, unwilling to take the 1965 aggrement to the international Court, unwilling to take the disputed island to the international Court. Unwilling to involve even a 3rd party country to solve the issue.
60 years of trying to end this historical disputes with no progress and things getting worse, in fact S. Korea is going back on its aggrements, refuses to involve the international community until Japan retaliates in its own way and Koreans don't like it!
S. Korea thinking at work ''let's keep the dispute diplomatically, it hasn't worked for decades but that's how we like it! With a Japan who apologies every year, a Japan who pays every few years to a decade, a Japan who will let us walk all over them, won't do anything in return to S. Korean aggression, lies, deception, untrustworthy, cant keep an agreement, it's word, it's Promise, a S. Korea who can do anything against Japan and suffer no consequences. It has Japan in its pocket no matter the behavior, no matter what they do.
Fred Lewis
Just to clear up a minor issue...
CHINA, although members of the ICJ, are not signatories of the "Declarations Recognising the Jurisdiction of the Court"...
JAPAN on the other hand IS a signatory as of 6 October 2015...
Effectively, this means that although Japan could go to the ICJ over the Senkakus - China does not recognise the Courts decisions as binding and, even though a member of the ICJ, has not bound itself to abide by the court's decision....
From the ICJ website... "Each State which has recognized the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court has in principle the right to bring any one or more other States, which have accepted the same obligation, before the Court, by filing an application instituting proceedings with the Court. Conversely, it undertakes to appear before the Court should proceedings be instituted against it by one or more other such States."
https://www.icj-cij.org/en
Regarding the specific issue of the Senkakus...
Japan has no need to call China to the ICJ over the Senkakus as they are not the "supposed" aggrieved party... If China were to decide to sign the declaration and then apply to the court for clarification on the Senkakus then Japan would be obligated to appear and abide by any decision as "binding"...
For some reason, China has done neither - perhaps because signing the declaration binds them to the authority of the ICJ for a minimum period of 5 years which might embolden other aggrieved parties ( like Tibet ? ) to call them to court
showchinmono
Heckleberry Today 06:41 pm JST
Frankly speaking, why are you asking this nonsense question despite Japanese government has been already telling SK government what to do?, which is....
1) Leave the issue to the judgement of arbitration committee or ICJ ...as clearly stipulated in the treaty.
or
Japan's stance and most of Japanese think 2) SK government simply compensates to the plaintiffs on behalf of the defendants in accordance with the claim it made when finalizing the treaty, which is basically what should have been done long time ago.
SK government proposed to Japan setting up 1+1 fund invested by both Japanese and Korean companies to compensate to the plaintiffs. Now it's upgraded to 1+1+alpha fund where Korean government is added to take care of potential new plaintiffs. Both ideas proposed are anyway not in line with the top court verdict which ordered "Japanese companies, the defendants must pay".
Do you see? SK government's both idea are already out of line of judicial order, in exact sense.
If there is any problem with two solution above, anyone can take his/her/their problem to the court again, can take the case up to the supreme court again and ask for the greatest South Korean revolutionary self-righteous verdict AGAIN.
Norman Goodman
I will never recognize an attempt by two governments to absolve one side's corporations of its debts and dismiss the other's citizens claims to back wages....all without the consent of the governed. Forget it. Japan needs to stop interpreting the 1965 treaty that way. Its BS.
JustMyThoughts
Akie
Of course I do. This is all a charade.
とんこつラーメン
Japan has requested a number of consultations so far, but Korea has not responded.
Laser irradiation, contractors, comfort women.... I think Korea's history and politics are based on anti-Japan...
I've been trying to love Korea for a long time, but it seems like it's impossible. If they love Japan, we can also love Korea.
I'm a japanese. My english isn't good enough..sorry bro.
showchinmono
You have freedom in your thought. Read the minutes of the treaty, read the verdict of SK top court which
did not make back wages an issue even a bit. Then you still have freedom in your thought.
Wolfpack
What? That’s crazy talk. The more melodrama the better. Everyone loves a good stare down. Japan and South Korea have real historical animosities towards one another. That said it sure is odd that the South’s PM has a soft spot for the commie North. I also think Abe got tired of getting hit over the head with the “comfort women” issue and decided to push back.
とんこつラーメン
We've been trying to love Korea for a long time, but it seems like it's impossible.
In spite of many years of anti-Japan, we have tried to get along well with them. But they do not keep promises. We were already tired of their selfishness...
Ex_Res
I think that if the Japanese govermment had showed more respect to ethnic Koreans living in Japan over the last 50 years, all of this would never have happened.
extanker
Sounds like Japan has hit South Korea where it hurts. Might finally be the wake up call that SK needs to stop playing petty political games.
Flute
@ Ex_Res,
I agree.
From my point of view, I will add : Same for the content of some history book previous to 2015 (I do not know now). Or the habit of some of cancelling apologies after. There was even a case of Japanese Parliament having to apologize because the Prime Minister denied the existence of sex slaves. Everyone guessed who was the Prime Minister at that time.
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1997272_1997273_1997286,00.html
The problem isn't coming from most Japanese people, imperial family included, who understood and "assumed" the wrong doing of Japan but/and want to move ahead. The problem is there is a bunch of people which just don't see any problem with what happened.
Ex_Res
The problem isn't coming from most Japanese people, imperial family included, who understood and "assumed" the wrong doing of Japan but/and want to move ahead. The problem is there is a bunch of people which just don't see any problem with what happened.
@Fulte . Agreed. I think that many isssues coud have been resolved by the last Head of State, before his abdication. The chance was missed.
Shin Ra
I guess nobody read the news story where sk admitted to illegal exports to nk!
Google it...
extanker
No, the problem is that South Korea doesn't just want an apology, they want all those people in Japan that don't agree to change their beliefs. Right or wrong, that is simply not possible. You can't regulate people's minds. SK needs to accept that there's a big difference in an apology and an opinion.
Norman Goodman
South Korea is not one big brain. South Koreans can think differently too. They want apologies, just not empty ones, over-generalized ones or ones the speaker backtracks on in the same breath. Japanese politicians are famous for those.
But the sad truth is that apologies from third parties are meaningless and that is what all South Koreans must accept. The people responsible for crimes against the South Korean people are pretty much all dead. Current politicians were not there. The only thing current politicians can apologize for is lying, hiding and obfuscating Japan's horrible past in modern times.
Wallace Fred
Now watch as the ldp regime slithers away like the cowardly bullies they are. Someone in the meeting clearly didn't account for this particular situation.
Every sane person knows it's the election cycle and given the slew of scandals that plague the regime, the alternative is to fall back to the tried and true boogeyman method. However given noko is off the table, next best thing is to create baseless accusations out of thin air against the neighbor to the south. It's rather pathetic really. But not surprising seeing as it's coming from the minds of aging dinosaurs that still cling to the 18th century mindset.
OssanAmerica
And get prosecuted.
"South Korean professor fined for book about ‘comfort women’, proving the truth is still dangerous"
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2118358/south-korean-professor-fined-book-about-comfort-women-proving