Japanese Media: "President Yoon Unusually Refrains from Criticizing Japan on Liberation Day"

President Yoon's Liberation Day Speech Reactions

Japanese media regarded it as unusual that President Yoon Suk-yeol did not mention past issues related to Japan in his Liberation Day congratulatory speech.

On the 15th, the day of Japan's defeat, people wearing navy blue uniforms are holding the Rising Sun Flag and the Japanese national flag at Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, where Class A war criminals of the Pacific War are enshrined.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Mainichi Shimbun reported on the 15th under the headline "No Criticism of Japan in South Korean President's Speech," stating, "In (South Korean) presidents' Liberation Day speeches, it has often included criticism of Japan over historical issues, but in President Yoon's speech, which values Korea-Japan relations, there was no criticism of Japan for the second consecutive year."

It added, "It is unusual not to mention thoughts related to Japan in the Liberation Day speech."

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun also introduced in an article titled "No Mention of Korea-Japan Relations in South Korean President's Liberation Day Speech" that President Yoon "did not directly mention Korea-Japan relations or historical issues in the Liberation Day event speech commemorating liberation from Japan's colonial rule."

The Sankei Shimbun reported, "Most of the speech was devoted to unification issues, with no specific mention of Korea-Japan relations."

In his congratulatory speech that day, President Yoon only mentioned Japan in relation to "Last year, our per capita national income surpassed Japan for the first time, and we are looking forward to reaching $40,000 by 2026. In the first half of this year, the export gap between Korea and Japan recorded a historic low of $3.5 billion."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding this, a senior official from the Presidential Office stated, "Today's speech implies that the Republic of Korea has steadily grown economically based on the value of freedom to the extent that it can engage in fair competition with Japan on equal footing," adding, "Although Korea-Japan relations were not pointed out, it showed confidence in Korea-Japan relations."

Earlier, in last year's Liberation Day congratulatory speech, President Yoon said, "Japan is now a partner that shares universal values with us and pursues common interests."

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