On 16 March 2023, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea President Yoon Seok-Yeol met for their first bilateral summit. This was a breakthrough thawing in Korea-Japan relations. As a Korean American naval officer who has served a significant portion of his career in Japan, I welcomed the news. The Republic of Korea Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force have significant respect and affection for each other at every level in the chain of command. There is an unspoken understanding that, if push came to shove, these forces—and those of the United States—would stand shoulder to shoulder and go into harm’s way for each other.
Shared Values and Interests
Korea and Japan are both stable, liberal democracies in which citizens enjoy robust civil rights and freedoms. Elections are fair and open, and the governments exercise civilian control of the military. Furthermore, in the post–World War II era, both countries thrived economically, in no small part thanks to Japan–Korea bilateral trade, and both used their alliance with the United States to export their country’s goods and services to the world’s markets.
Continuing this economic success hinges on maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific through which imports and exports, both physical and digital, can flow freely. Cooperation between two nations that uphold and benefit from democratic norms is critical, especially as autocratic regimes challenge the viability of democratic governance.
Grievance and Cooperation Can Coexist
Those who oppose warming relations reference unresolved grievances and disputes as the primary roadblocks. The crux of the argument is that without a satisfactory resolution of and reparations for atrocities against the Korean people during Japan’s 1910–45 occupation, a close and cooperative relationship is impossible. This sentiment is understandable. It would be inappropriate for contemporaries of any nationality or ethnicity to speak for or pass judgment on the suffering and exploitation of the Korean people during Japan’s occupation.
Increased cooperation is not meant to minimize the Korean people’s suffering or mean the “hatchet is buried.” Representatives from both governments will certainly have years of contentious meetings and roadblocks ahead as their countries attempt to reconcile the painful memories. However, as advanced liberal democracies, Korea and Japan must use this extraordinary commonality to find an equitable accountability and compensation for past grievances.
Enhanced Cooperation
At an operational and tactical level, close cooperation between Japan and South Korea benefits both countries’ national security, especially for their naval services. In the acquisition arena, Japan and Korea could resume cobuys of critical military systems to achieve major cost savings, as they did when negotiating a block buy of the AN/SPY-1 for their Atago- and Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyers.
Operationally, closer cooperation could better position each country to quickly flow resources and personnel to areas of need in the event of natural disasters such as the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Closer military cooperation could lead to future joint exercises, including increased participation from Japan-based units and installations. Joint exercises and planning might even lead to Korean and Japanese forces codefending critical maritime and aerial battlespaces from ballistic missile threats. Were conflict to break out between North and South Korea, Japan’s air and naval bases would be critical logistical nodes.
Most Japanese and Korean sailors understand that cooperation is necessary and beneficial. However, it can happen only when both governments look forward based on their shared values and interests, even while being mindful of their painful and complex history.
