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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/world/asia/south-korea-japan-summit-apology.html>
"The leaders of South Korea and Japan agreed on Sunday to press ahead with
joint efforts to improve bilateral ties despite skeptics at home, declaring
that historical differences should not prevent the two nations from working
more closely to cope with the growing security challenges from North Korea and
China.
Before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan arrived in Seoul to meet President
Yoon Suk Yeol and to nurture a fledgling détente, South Koreans had been
waiting intently for what Mr. Kishida might say about Japan’s brutal colonial
rule of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century.
Mr. Kishida said Japan stood by the past statements in which some of his
predecessors expressed remorse and apologies. But he went no further than that,
merely saying that “my heart ached” when he thought of the suffering of the
Koreans.
His words fell short of the clear and direct apology that many South Koreans,
including the head of the main opposition party, had demanded.
But Mr. Yoon said he would not dwell on seeking such an apology.
“It’s not something we can unilaterally demand; it’s something that should come
naturally from the other side’s sincerity,” Mr. Yoon said during a joint news
conference with Mr. Kishida. “We must abandon the notion that we cannot take a
single step ahead for future cooperation until the past history is resolved.”"
Via Lee Rothstein and Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
