A Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer will fly the Rising Sun flag when taking part in a naval drill in South Korea next week, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Friday, amid improving ties between the two Asian neighbors.
Tokyo's decision regarding the exercise, slated to be held off Jeju Island next Wednesday, indicates that Seoul views the act of hoisting the controversial flag, perceived as a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism, as less problematic. Japan ruled over the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.
Hamada said at a news conference that the destroyer will display the flag when participating in the drill "in accordance with" the domestic legislation that requires MSDF vessels to fly the Rising Sun flag as their official ensign.
In recent months, bilateral relations have been improving under the administration of South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May 2022 pledging to resolve tensions with Japan after ties sank to their lowest point in decades under his predecessor, Moon Jae-in.
In March, Yoon proposed a solution to a long-standing bilateral dispute over compensating wartime laborers. As a sign of a thaw in relations, Japan and South Korea have resumed reciprocal visits between their leaders, following the suspension of such visits in December 2011.
During Moon's time in office, the two Asian countries were at odds over the Rising Sun flag, among other historical issues, with South Korea claiming it is associated with the World War II-era Imperial Japanese Army and Navy.
In 2018, Japan canceled its attendance at a naval event in South Korea after Seoul demanded that Tokyo refrain from displaying the flag.
The United States, Australia and Canada are also scheduled to join the upcoming drill, aimed at strengthening capabilities to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.