The government of South Korea has decided that the future is more important than the past — and offered Japan a settlement of one of the long-standing disputes that poisons their relationship, wartime labor.
The administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has applauded the proposal and appears ready to join President Yoon Suk-yeol and build a partnership that helps both countries.
The agreement is welcome. Unfortunately, there are reasons to fear that it could be short lived, given the pendulum-like swings of South Korean politics. That risk is real — making it Japan’s responsibility to do all it can to convince the people of South Korea that it too is committed to building a forward-looking relationship and will create the goodwill needed to insulate the deal from those domestic political pressures.