Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to North Korea on Sept. 17 culminated in the signing of the Pyongyang Declaration with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Since then, the situation has become strained and complicated. We must understand the Japanese domestic situation and how it determines Japan's position toward North Korea.
Broadly speaking, Japan's position consists of''three goals and four basic principles,'' according to the Foreign Ministry. The first goal is settlement of World War II issues. The second goal is peace and stability in the region; the ministry's position is that normalization of Japan-North Korean relations is necessary for this goal. The third goal is resolving bilateral issues between the two countries; the abductions of Japanese nationals and spy ships in Japanese waters fall in this category.
Japan is trying to attain these three goals. But goals are not necessarily applicable as actual policy, especially since the interests of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) loom large.
Japan's policy toward the Korean Peninsula as a whole is ruled by four principles. The first is that Japan supports a peaceful reunification of the peninsula. Second, Japan acknowledges and supports South Korea as the main proponent of the peninsula's peace process. Third, Japan will continue to maintain friendly relations with South Korea. Fourth, Japan will actively seek to improve relations with North Korea only if and when the three aforementioned principles are fulfilled.
The problem of the Korean Peninsula is extremely complex. At least six countries are involved---Japan, the United States, China, Russia and the two Koreas-and each has its own outlook and agenda. Each country also has a different set of priorities with regard to the Korean Peninsula.
Because of this complexity, any one country must do a fine balancing act of its domestic politics with foreign relations, its bilateral relations with North Korea, and issues that the rest of the world is concerned about. In the past, there have been five instances in which Japan actively veered toward normalization with North Korea.
First, in 1990, there was the Kanemaru mission, led by the then Liberal Democratic Party Vice President Shin Kanemaru. In 1995, LDP leader Michio Watanabe led a party of delegates for humanitarian food aid.
In 1997, Yoshiro Mori, then chairman of the LDP's executive council, led a tri-party delegation; and in 1999, former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama led a nonpartisan parliamentarian delegation. The fifth attempt was the recent visit by Prime Minister Koizumi.
Ironically, Japan seems to seek diplomatic openings with North Korea when a major issue is at hand. At the time of the Kanemaru mission, Japan had been demanding the return of two crew members of the cargo ship No. 18 Fujisan Maru who had been arrested by North Korea. Koizumi's visit came amid growing allegations of abductions and spy ship missions. Unfortunately, it seems Japan needs a pressing problem for it to earnestly resume negotiations with North Korea.
This is probably because many people expect the North Korean government or state to disintegrate at any time. Many people are likely asking why Japan would seek to normalize relations with a country on its way to self-destruction.
South Korea's ''sunshine policy'' undoubtedly was a positive influence on Koizumi's decision to visit Pyongyang.
If South Korean officials had been taking a hard-line approach toward the North, they would have never welcomed Japan's offer of an olive branch to North Korea.
The trilateral Japan-U.S.- South Korea framework is extremely important. If North Korea perceives the framework as something in which everything is decided by the United States, then there will be very little incentive for North Korea to negotiate with Japan. Therefore, it is necessary to show North Korea that the three countries are equal partners, each individually responsible for building a consensus on how to address problems in this region.
To show the North Koreans that the three countries are all equally committed to this region would also help solve the bilateral issues between Japan and North Korea, as well as global issues that concern the international society.
North Korea issues complex
