Japan and South Korea are strengthening bilateral ties due to the threat of North Korean nuclear bombs or other large rockets or bombs it may possess. The two countries usually struggle to have strong ties due to a poor history with one, the main historical reason being the colonization of Korea during World War II. Another reason is that the last South Korean President was too left wing for the Japanese government. The two countries are both allied with the US, giving them a common tie to one another.
It always surprised me that the US managed to have a strong alliance in both South Korea and Japan despite the two countries having such a bad history with one another, you would imagine that the two countries would still to this day be at each other’s throats but due to the threat of North Korea they can’t be. In the article they also discussed Japanese reparations for Korean Citizens that suffered slave labor under Japanese colonial rule and how this angered Japan, I couldn’t imagine a country in the West taking such a bold position towards reparations for colonial regions but I’m sure its happened.
In class we have discussed human rights violations, human rights violations, even from decades in the past, have a humongous influence on the way that countries interact with one another, often because the original reason for the violations still exist. Such as ethnic, religious, or political differences. For two countries to improve relations after a large violation of human rights usually requires a reformation in the social aspect of their societies, such as German anti-semitism decreasing after World War II.