Tokyo reacts to anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea

The attitudes of Japanese people and government have “gone beyond resentment” towards South Korea as a result of the anti-Japanese feeling that is being whipped up by Seoul, according to a professor of international relations.

“Most people in Japan believe that South Korea has already gone too far and they are simply not interested in dealing with Korea any more,” said Tomohito Shinoda, a professor at The International University of Japan, in Niigata Prefecture.

“The saddest thing is the way in which the South Korean media is over-reacting at every opportunity and making some very stupid comments,” he said.

Relations between the two nations have been rocky for decades over a number of issues – many of which appear intractable.

There is still resentment towards Japan for what is perceived as a failure to apologise and compensate adequately for its years of colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. Tokyo counters that historical issues were settled with the signing of the treaty in the 1965 to normalise diplomatic relations.

Many in Korea are also angry over the women forced into sexual slavery during the Japanese occupation, perceived errors in Japanese school history text books here and Japan’s ongoing claim to sovereignty over the Dok-do islands, which Tokyo still marks as Takeshima on its maps.

Tensions have been ratcheted up in the last couple of years, with former slave labourers starting legal action against Japanese companies for redress, ‘comfort women’ stepping up their campaign for recognition and Seoul becoming more vocal in its demands that Japan be more honest about the suffering it caused during the colonial era.