PARTY POLITICS AND CHANGING DIPLOMATIC PRIORITIES: JAPAN-SOUTH KOREAN RELATIONS INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

摘要

Japan-South Korean relations have been consistently hindered by political andudsocial reminders regarding their shared history that includes Japan’s violent occupation ofudKorea in the 20th century. However, relations had been improving into the 21st centuryuduntil now, where positive relations and cooperation appear to be at a standstill regardlessudof the expectation that they would have grown closer given current events. This paperudexplains the motivations for the lack of a fully realized cooperative relationship betweenudthe two nations using the following explanations: dysfunctional political parties in SouthudKorea benefits politically from pushing emotional anti-Japan rhetoric to a typicallyuddisaffected voting base; Japan is no longer viewed as being as critical an economicudpartner compared to China; and this anti-Japan rhetoric has no substantial pushback orudreaction from the Japanese government and public.