Article link: Japan and South Korea meet, restate positions in dispute | Reuters
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met with South Korea’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Thursday to discuss the trade restrictions between the two countries. They are hoping to find a resolution and have sound relations. By having cooperation between the two countries they are hoping it will help with regional stability. If the trade restrictions are not dropped South Korea threatened that they would bring Japan in front of a World Trade Organization Panel to settle the dispute. Talks for fixing this conflict have been going on since the G7 meeting back in May but to no avail thus far.
The relationship between South Korea and Japan is tense due to residual anger from the Japanese occupation of Korea. In 1910 Japan annexed the Korean peninsula and held onto it until 1945. When World War 2 occurred Japan forced Koreans to be a part of the Japanese military and also forced Korean women into becoming comfort women for Japanese soldiers. Even though it is now almost 80 years after these acts were committed the relationship between them is still tense. Japan and South Korea need to put aside their differences to maintain security in the region. If they do not work together then it may make it so North Korea is able to run rampant. They must also work together to stay strong against the threat that China poses to the region.
The G7 is an IGO formed by the countries with the largest economies. These countries include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, and Canada. China is not a part of the G7 even though it is a very large economy because the members do not consider it developed enough to become a member. South Korea is not a member of the G7 but it was invited as a guest nation to attend the May G7 Summit. This is where the talk between South Korea and Japan on trade restrictions was first brought up this year.