Business Jul 5, 2019
Calls for boycott of Japan grow in South Korea as wartime labor row simmers
The dispute appears to be devolving into a tit-for-tat trade war that will likely prove damaging to both sides.
National / Politics Jul 5, 2019
South Korea formally closes Japan-funded 'comfort women' foundation
A Japanese-funded foundation set up in South Korea under a 2015 bilateral agreement on the issue of "comfort women" has been formally dissolved, a person closely involved with the organization said Friday. After deciding in November to dissolve the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, the South ...
National Jun 27, 2019
Tokyo court admits Asahi reporter was defamed but denies damages over 'comfort women' articles
The Tokyo District Court recognized Wednesday that a former Asahi Shimbun newspaper reporter was defamed in connection with his 1991 articles on "comfort women," but it rejected his claim for damages against a major publisher and a scholar. The term comfort women is a euphemism ...
National Jun 20, 2019
Japanese-American director of 'comfort women' documentary sued by interviewees
by Magdalena Osumi
A group of seven Japanese intellectuals and activists has sued the director and the distributor of a documentary film that covers the political debates over "comfort women," demanding the screenings be terminated and seeking compensation totaling ¥13 million. The term comfort women is a euphemism ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Jun 8, 2019
Documentary juxtaposes both sides of contentious debate on 'comfort women'
by Philip Brasor
On May 30, three people held a news conference in Tokyo to speak out against a documentary titled "Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue," which focuses on the rhetorical battle over the women who sexually serviced Japanese soldiers before and during ...
National / Politics May 4, 2019
Moon Hee-sang, speaker of South Korea's National Assembly, has set up a group of lawmakers to beef up interchanges with Japanese politicians, the office of the assembly's press secretary announced on Friday. Suh Chung-won, an independent who formerly headed an association of National Assembly members ...
National / Politics Apr 30, 2019
President Moon Jae-in thanks Emperor Akihito for work to strengthen Japan-South Korea ties
In editorials, South Korean newspapers said the imperial succession and the start of the new era should be catalysts for improving bilateral ties.
Commentary / Japan Apr 17, 2019
South Korean court wades into historical issue
by Masao Okonogi
National Apr 10, 2019
Seoul city authorities cancel permit for Japanese Embassy building, blaming construction delays
Authorities in Seoul have canceled a permit for a new Japanese Embassy building citing construction delays, local officials said Wednesday, as relations between South Korea and Tokyo continue to show strain due to historical disputes. The neighbors are both democracies, market economies and U.S. allies ...
National / Politics Apr 9, 2019
Abe tells outgoing South Korean ambassador about concerns over bilateral ties
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday expressed his worries about soured relations between Tokyo and Seoul in a meeting with the outgoing South Korean ambassador to Japan. During a courtesy call from the ambassador, Lee Su-hoon, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo, Abe expressed ...
Commentary / Japan Mar 31, 2019
Can Tokyo and Seoul break their deadlock?
by Yuki Tatsumi
Tokyo and Seoul should consider who will be the losers and more importantly, who will be the winners, from a prolonged division in the bilateral relationship?
National / Politics Mar 31, 2019
South Korean prime minister says he's keen to improve ties with Japan
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon expresses an eagerness to improve relations with Japan and develop their long history of bilateral exchanges and cooperation in a future-oriented way.