Japan's Yomiuri: "Deterioration of Korea-Japan Relations Is Moon Administration's Responsibility... No Impact on Security, etc."

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The conservative-leaning Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun criticized the Moon Jae-in administration on the 11th, saying that the responsibility for the worsening public opinion between Korea and Japan lies largely with South Korea.

On the same day, Yomiuri referred to a joint public opinion survey conducted recently by Hankook Ilbo and Yomiuri in an editorial titled "The Moon administration has increased mutual distrust." The survey results released the previous day showed that 91% of Koreans and 84% of Japanese responded that the current bilateral relationship is "bad."

Yomiuri pointed out, "Since the Korean Supreme Court issued a ruling ordering Japanese companies to compensate the former forced laborers (victims of forced labor), no feasible solution has yet been proposed." It added, "The Moon administration must recognize the extent of the damage to Korea-Japan relations and devise countermeasures. If compensation for the former forced laborers is necessary, it is logical for the Korean government to take the lead in promoting it."

Yomiuri stated, "Japan will have no choice but to continue cooperation in necessary fields for the time being to minimize adverse effects," and added, "According to the Supreme Court ruling, Japanese companies' assets have been seized. If these are liquidated, the companies will suffer direct disadvantages. This is an absolutely unacceptable situation for Japan."

However, Yomiuri emphasized the importance of not allowing this confrontation to spread to areas where Korea-Japan cooperation is essential, such as security. The newspaper commented, "North Korea continues provocations such as missile launches, and China continues military expansion. To maintain stability in Northeast Asia, it is required that Korea and Japan cooperate centered on the United States," and added, "What is important is not to let the confrontation spread to areas where security and Korea-Japan cooperation are indispensable."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.