NHK recently aired a documentary that touched on the 50th anniversary of normalized relations between South Korea and Japan. The main theme was how after World War II Japan prioritized state-to-state relationships with countries it had invaded during the war. Individual victims were sacrificed to expedience, especially with regard to South Korea, a former colony. Many of Korea's postwar leaders worked with their Japanese overlords during the war, and afterward they were desperate to build an economic base with Japan's help.