Historical issues in Northeast Asia

The recent controversy over a Harvard professor’s article showcases how limited the space for debate and discussion on the issue has become.

While U.S. scholars and politicians criticized the article, it was defended by far-right activists in Japan – and South Korea.

The Japanese government rejected a court ruling on compensation for South Korean women forced into sexual slavery during World War II. 

Past history gives a blueprint the incoming administration can use to push for better relations between two important East Asian allies.

The ruling recalls the 2018 judgment on forced labor that sparked a trade war between Japan and South Korea.

The Biden administration must avoid the fundamental flaw of previous reparations arrangements: prioritizing state interests over victims’ concerns.

The country’s long battle for co-use of the names “East Sea” and “Sea of Japan” is over as the IHO decided to adopt a new numerical system.

A spate of recent exchanges could be seen as an accomplishment in and of itself, but there has been little concrete progress toward a solution on the forced labor issue.

PM Suga met with Seoul’s National Intelligence Service director, a rare bilateral exchange amid strained relations.

South Korea-Japan ties during Abe’s tenure can probably best be described as persistent lows, punctuated by what have proved to be mostly ephemeral highs

Relations between Japan and South Korea have long fluctuated between comity and crisis.