As South Korean President Park Geun-hye begins her second year in office, there is little prospect that the chilly ties between Japan and her country will grow warmer anytime soon. Park and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should take concrete steps to remedy this most regrettable state of affairs.
Since her inauguration on Feb. 25, 2013, Park has met with the leaders of 29 countries on 33 occasions. But Japan is notably missing from the list. Although new South Korean presidents traditionally stop in Tokyo after visiting the United States for the first time, Park chose not to do so on her return from Washington this past May. Both Abe and Park should realize that this frigid state of affairs is extremely abnormal for neighboring countries.
The approval rating for Park is relatively high at around 55 percent. The only president to enjoy a higher rating since South Korea democratized in 1987 was Kim Dae-jung. Park's relatively high approval rating is mainly attributed to her hard stance toward South Korea's opposition forces, North Korea and Japan.