COMMENTARY / Japan

Will Japan’s Kishida take relations with the Koreas in a new direction?

Tokyo is expected to continue to struggle with issues pertaining to North and South Korea

Then-Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (center) meets his South Korean and American counter parts, Yun Byung-se and Secretary of State John Kerry in New York in September 2016. | REUTERS

By Jason Bartlett
The Diplomat

Oct 7, 2021

The Japanese Diet recently elected longtime top diplomat Fumio Kishida as the country’s next prime minister.

While a seasoned negotiator with both Pyongyang and Seoul, Prime Minister Kishida will likely maintain a typical Japanese approach toward the two Koreas.

Kishida follows a common political path in Japan in approaching the two Koreas: seek apology and clarity from Pyongyang on the abduction issue while refusing to offer additional apologies to Seoul for war crimes.

Will Japan’s Kishida take relations with the Koreas in a new direction?

Tokyo is expected to continue to struggle with issues pertaining to North and South Korea

In your social network

In your inbox

In your social network

In your inbox