Japan-South Korea relations

The long unresolved forced labor dispute nears closure, with South Korea deciding to shoulder victim compensation through donations. 

The Yoon administration's plan to resolve forced labor disputes with Japan is already sparking controversy at home.

In his address to celebrate the 104th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, Yoon Suk-yeol said Japan has transformed into a partner sharing common values.

As far as maritime flashpoints in the Asia-Pacific go, don’t sleep on the potential expiration of the JDZ between Japan and South Korea.

Ties between the two U.S. Asian allies have long been complicated by grievances related to Japan's brutal rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

Japan’s upcoming naval fleet review will be a litmus test for South Korea’s Yoon administration to improve bilateral ties.

Why are Japan and South Korea, both U.S. allies and East Asian democracies, continuously at odds over everything from their territorial dispute to wartime labor compensation?

While Yoon failed to hold a formal summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, he succeeded in having an “informal meeting” with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. 

With relatively new governments and a pressing threat from North Korea, the timing to renew Seoul and Tokyo ties is better now than it has been in years.

Much of the West is eulogizing the former Japanese prime minister. In China and South Korea, reactions are far less positive.

The Yoon administration has expressed a strong willingness to improve bilateral ties with Japan, but Tokyo seems unwilling to budge on the central issues. 

Park Jin became the first South Korean foreign minister to visit Tokyo since 2019.