Thursday marked one year since the inauguration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in and comes amid a sudden about-face from North Korea on its nuclear weapons and missile program, which could defuse the nuclear crisis it had created and stage a dramatic reconciliation with the South.
Throughout the crisis, Japanese experts and diplomats have been deeply concerned the liberal South Korean leader Moon could prioritize relations with Pyongyang over the interests of longtime allies, namely Japan and the United States.
They also are worried Moon could someday raise diplomatic tension with Japan over sensitive historical and diplomatic issues to drum up support of voters, as has been repeated many times by several of his predecessors.