Abstract
Although Japan and Korea formally normalized their relations in 1965, these neighbours remain wary of each other because of their awkward history during the first half of the twentieth century, when Japan annexed Korea and oppressed the Koreans in many ways. Korean scholars believe strongly that this annexation was ‘‘illegal’’ and that it constituted a violation of international law when it occurred. Japanese scholars tend to admit that the Japanese occupation of Korea was brutal and caused enormous suffering, but they are reluctant to acknowledge that the annexation was ‘‘illegal’’, because other great powers were annexing small countries during that period. The US action supporting the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 and annexing Hawaii in 1898 may be helpful in finding an appropriate resolution to the Japan–Korea standoff. In 1993, the US Congress enacted a joint resolution formally apologizing to the Native Hawaiian people and calling for a ‘‘reconciliation’’ between the United States and the Native Hawaiians. This resolution acknowledged that the US diplomatic and military support for the 1893 overthrow was ‘‘illegal’’ and was in violation of ‘‘international law’’. This strong statement seems to be an application of ‘‘intertemporal law’’, whereby present views of international law are applied to the events of the 1890s, but, in any event, it is a powerful acknowledgment that a wrong occurred, causing injuries that can still be felt today. The reconciliation process between the United States and Native Hawaiians is now under way and, to be complete, it will require the restoration of the sovereignty of the Native Hawaiians and a return of land and resources to them. Japanese officials have offered apologies to the Koreans, but the reconciliation between the two countries can become complete only if these apologies are accompanied by a transfer of items of real value. This paper proposes that proper payments to the Korean comfort women and a renunciation by Japan of its claim to Dokdo/Takeshima (the tiny islands claimed by both countries) could serve to formalize the reconciliation between these two neighbours.
PDF