View source for Japan–Korea disputes

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{{update|part=Details on [[Liancourt Rocks dispute]] and the Japan-South Korea trade dispute |date=September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}

[[File:Sea of Japan Map.png|300px|thumb|Korea peninsula and the Japan are separated by the Sea of Japan.]]There have been a number of significant disputes between various Koreanic and Japonic states. The two regions have a [[History of Japan–Korea relations|long history of relations]] as immediate neighbors that has been marked with conflict. One of the most significant issues is the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonization of Korea]] that began with the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910]] and ended with the [[surrender of Japan]] at the end of [[World War II]].

Although South Korea was established in 1948, [[Japan–South Korea relations]] only officially began in 1965 with the signing of the [[Treaty on Basic Relations Between Japan and the Republic of Korea|Basic Treaty]] that normalized their relations. Today, Japan and South Korea are major trading partners, and many students, tourists, entertainers, and business people travel between the two countries. Despite strong economic cooperation between the two countries, ongoing territorial and historical issues exist between the two nations.

[[Japan–North Korea relations|Relations between Japan and North Korea]] are not yet normalized, and there are ongoing historical, geopolitical and nuclear issues between the two nations.

== Background ==
{{Main|History of Japan–Korea relations}}
With the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876]], Japan decided to expand their initial settlements and acquired an enclave in [[Busan]]. In the [[First Sino-Japanese War|Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95]], Japan defeated the [[Qing dynasty]], and had released Korea from the tributary system of Qing China by concluding the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]], which compelled the Qing to acknowledge Yi Dynasty Korea as an independent country. Japan encouraged the modernization of Korea. However, the ruling Min clan, including the [[Queen Min]] took precautions against Japan due to its increasing dominance and influence within the Korean peninsula.<ref>Tatiana M.  Simbirtseva, "Queen Min of Korea: Coming to Power". ''Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society–Korea Branch 71'' (1996): 41–54.  [http://anthony.sogang.ac.kr/transactions/VOL71/VOL71-4.docx online]</ref>  In 1895, [[Assassination of Empress Myeongseong|Queen Min was assassinated]] by Japan after seeking to promote Russian influence and oppose reform.<ref>Bruce Cumings, ''Korea's Place in the Sun'' (1997) p 123.</ref>

=== Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty ===
{{Main|Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910|Korea under Japanese rule}}
In 1897, Joseon was renamed to the [[Korean Empire]] (1897–1910), affirming its independence, but greatly gravitated closer to Russia, with the [[Korea royal refuge at the Russian legation|King ruling from the Russian legation]], and then using Russian guards upon return to his palace. Japan declared war on Russia to drive out Russian influence, and ended the war by imposing the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905]]. Korea became a [[protectorate]] of Japan, a precursor to its annexation. [[Itō Hirobumi]], who was the first prime minister of Japan and one of [[genrō|the elder statesmen]], was [[Resident-General of Korea]] and was opposed to the annexation of Korea.<ref>{{cite web|title=asahi.com：伊藤博文の韓国統治 日韓両国の研究者が再評価 - 文化一般 - 文化・芸能|url=http://www.asahi.com/culture/news_culture/TKY200803270152.html}}</ref> However, the power balance in domestic Japan grew in favor of the annexation, in part because of Itō's assassination in 1909 by An Jung-Geun. On August 22, 1910, Japan had formally annexed Korea through the [[Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty]].

In 1910, Japan [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910|annexed Korea]]. The legality of the annexation and the subsequent 35-years of occupation of the Korean Peninsula by Japan are controversial. Both have been criticized as illegal based on the fact that the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905]] was signed under duress, as well as its never having been ratified by [[Gojong of Korea]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Yutaka|first=Kawasaki|date=August 7, 1996|title=Was the 1910 Annexation Treaty Between Korea and Japan Concluded Legally?|work=[[Murdoch University]] Electronic Journal of Law|url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v3n2/kawasaki.html|access-date=February 19, 2007}}</ref> Some Japanese scholars have challenged this view of the treaty as invalid.<ref>{{cite book|author=Pak, Chʻi-yŏng|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dB_8L4ysZrEC&q=annexation|title=Korea and the United Nations|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|year=2000|isbn=90-411-1382-7|pages=6–7|access-date=2016-01-04}}</ref><ref name="AnnexTreaty">{{cite news|title=Treaty of Annexation|work=USC-UCLA Joint East Asian Studies Center|url=http://www.isop.ucla.edu/eas/documents/kore1910.htm|url-status=dead|access-date=February 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911001224/http://www.isop.ucla.edu/eas/documents/kore1910.htm|archive-date=September 11, 2015}}</ref>

=== Post-war Korea ===
[[Kim Il Sung]] had led a [[Korean independence movement]], which was active in the border areas between China and Russia, particularly in areas with considerable [[Koreans in China|ethnic Korean]] populations. Kim founded [[North Korea]], and his descendants have still not signed a peace treaty with Japan. The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]], led by (later) South Korea's first president [[Syngman Rhee]], had moved from Shanghai to [[Chongqing]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=251169&v=43|title=대한민국임시정부 大韓民國臨時政府|trans-title=Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea|publisher=[[Nate (web portal)|Nate]] / [[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]|quote=전민족운동이었던 3·1운동에 의해 수립된 임시정부...대내적으로는 독립운동의 통할기구로서의 구실을 가지고 탄생...상해에 있던 시기(1919~1932)에는 국내외동포사회에 통할조직을 확대하면서 외교활동이나 독립전쟁 등을 지도, 통할하는 데 주력하였다. 초기의 독립전쟁은 만주와 연해주(沿海州)의 독립군단체에 일임...이 시기에 가장 주목할 성과는 광복군(光復軍)을 창설.. (trans. It was a provisional government established by the March 1st Movement that excised the whole nation..It was founded with the purpose as the united organ to excise the Korean liberation movement both outside and inside of Korea&nbsp;... During the period based in Shanghai (1919–1932), it expanded the supervising organization to the Korean society inside and aboard, it focused on leading and supervising diplomatic activities and liberation movement. The earlier liberation war was entrusted to independence groups in Manchuria and Primorsky Krai..The most notable achievement in the period was to establish the Independence Army...|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610083001/http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=251169&v=43|archive-date=June 10, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Lee lobbied the United States and was recognized by the South Korean administrator by [[Douglas MacArthur]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Cummings, Bruce|chapter=38 degrees of separation: a forgotten occupation|title=The Korean War: a History|publisher=Modern Library|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8129-7896-4|page=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lY5-7ZirsmgC|access-date=2016-01-04}}</ref> Japanese control of Korea ended on September 9, 1945, when the [[Governor-General of Korea]] signed the instrument of surrender document to United States in [[Seoul]].

=== Normalization of bilateral relations and compensation ===
{{Main|Treaty on Basic Relations between South Korea and Japan}}

Twenty years after World War II, South Korea and Japan re-established diplomatic relations with the 1965 signing of the [[Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea|Treaty on Basic Relations]]. In 2005, South Korea disclosed diplomatic documents that detailed the proceedings of the treaty. Kept secret in South Korea for 40 years, the documents revealed that Japan provided 500 million dollars in soft loans and 300 million in grants to South Korea as compensation for the reign of Japan. South Korea agreed to demand no more compensation after the treaty, either at a government-to-government level or an individual-to-government level.<ref>The Washington Times. [http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050117-025138-3813r.htm S. Korea discloses sensitive documents]</ref> It was also revealed that the South Korean government assumed the responsibility for compensating individuals on a lump sum basis<ref name="comp">The Chosun Ilbo. [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200501/200501170043.html Compensation for Colonial Victims Is Not Just a Legal Problem] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018011652/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200501/200501170043.html|date=October 18, 2015}}</ref> while rejecting Japan's proposal for direct compensation.<ref>The Chosun Ilbo. [http://japanese.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2004/09/17/20040917000026.html 「韓国政府、韓日会談で個別請求権放棄」] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221000808/http://japanese.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2004/09/17/20040917000026.html|date=February 21, 2007}}</ref>

== Historical issues following normalization ==

=== Individual compensation ===
With the [[Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea|Basic Treaty]] signed between countries, Japan had compensated the Korean government for both its peacetime occupation and wartime activities. The South Korean government used most of the loans for economic development and paid 300,000 won per death, with only a total of 2,570 million [[South Korean won|won]] to the relatives of 8,552 victims who died in forced labor.<ref name="comp" /><ref>The Chosun Ilbo. [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200501/200501170044.html Seoul Demanded $364 Million for Japan's Victims] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716033345/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200501/200501170044.html|date=July 16, 2015}}</ref> Korean victims had filed a compensation lawsuit against the South Korean government as of 2005. Subsequent lawsuits in South Korea have had contradictory results as to whether Japan and Japanese companies are still liable for individual compensation from their action during the occupation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Court Decisions in the Republic of Korea on Japan's Accountability for Sexual Slavery of the Comfort Women |url=https://academic.oup.com/jicj/article-abstract/20/2/459/6637747?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=academic.oup.com}}</ref> Japan claims that all of its and Japanese companies responsibilities have been met by the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shin |first=Mitch |title=Conflict Between South Korea and Japan Surges Again With Court's 'Comfort Women' Decision |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/conflict-between-south-korea-and-japan-surges-again-with-courts-comfort-women-decision/ |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery]], a [[mock trial]] organised by and supported by Japanese NGO [[Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery]], issued a ruling that "states cannot agree by treaty to waive the liability of another state for crimes against humanity".<ref>[[Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan's Military Sexual Slavery]]. [http://www1.jca.apc.org/vaww-net-japan/english/womenstribunal2000/whatstribunal.html The Women's International War Crimes Tribunal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005154836/http://www1.jca.apc.org/vaww-net-japan/english/womenstribunal2000/whatstribunal.html|date=October 5, 2006}}</ref>

Diplomatic relations over compensation flared up again following a 2018 ruling by the [[Supreme Court of Korea]] which ordered [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]] to pay compensation to the families of 28 Koreans who were forced laborers.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-11-29|title=Mitsubishi payout ordered over WW2 labour|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46381207|access-date=2020-09-15}}</ref> Japan had viewed the Treaty as having been the final instrument of compensation, while the South Korean government backed the ruling of its highest court. The government of [[Moon Jae-in]]  viewed the Treaty as not having abrogated the rights of individuals to seek compensation.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-12-02|title=Why South Korea and Japan have fallen out|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49330531|access-date=2020-09-15}}</ref>

In July 2019, [[Prime Minister of Japan]] [[Shinzō Abe]] accused the [[government of South Korea]] of not having an "appropriate response to its breach" of the treaty. In response, [[Blue House]] spokeswoman [[Ko Min-jung]] advised that the two countries' governments "not [to] cross the line and make [the] utmost efforts for future cooperation between the two countries and their people." Moon Jae-In had further called for "technological innovation" so that South Korea relied less on Japan, in the context of ongoing trade wars and South Korean reliance on Japanese technological imports.<ref name="ChosunMedia">{{cite web|last1=Ahn|first1=Jun-yong|date=23 July 2019|title='Don't Cross the Line,' Korea Tells Japan|url=http://english.chosun.com/m/svc/article.html?contid=2019072301015|access-date=23 July 2019|website=[[ChosunMedia]]|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> This issue had significantly impacted South Korea–Japan military cooperation and economic trade.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Park|first=S. Nathan|title=Abe Ruined the Most Important Democratic Relationship in Asia|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/04/shinzo-abe-japan-south-korea-war-nationalism/|access-date=2020-09-15|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Formal apologies for colonization ===
{{Main|List of war apology statements issued by Japan}}

==== South Korea ====
Although [[Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea|diplomatic relations]] were established by treaty in 1965, South Korea continues to request an apology and compensation for [[Korea under Japanese rule]]. The Japanese government has apologized officially many times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/10/japan.korea.apology/index.html|title=Japan apologizes again for colonial rule of Korea}}</ref> In 2012, The South Korean government asked that [[Emperor Akihito]] should apologize for Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/08/15/national/japanese-emperor-must-apologize-for-colonial-rule-s-korean-president|title=Japanese Emperor must apologize for colonial rule: S. Korean president|work=[[The Japan Times]]|date=August 15, 2012|access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref>
Some Japanese Prime Ministers have issued apologies, including [[Keizō Obuchi|Prime Minister Obuchi]] in the [[Japan–South Korea Joint Declaration of 1998]], but many have not. Survey evidence suggests that Japanese citizens with conservative ideologies and hierarchical group dispositions tend to resist issuing apologies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kitagawa |first1=Risa |last2=Chu |first2=Jonathan A. |date=2021 |title=The Impact of Political Apologies on Public Opinion |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/impact-of-political-apologies-on-public-opinion/7B4BBB7F4E9790229E0C5E36B8A5B35A |journal=World Politics |language=en |volume=73 |issue=3 |pages=441–481 |doi=10.1017/S0043887121000083 |issn=0043-8871|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Inamasu |first1=Kazunori |last2=Kohama |first2=Shoko |last3=Mifune |first3=Nobuhiro |last4=Ohtsubo |first4=Yohsuke |last5=Tago |first5=Atsushi |date=2023 |title=The Association between ideology and resistance to governmental apology depends on political knowledge |journal=Japanese Journal of Political Science |language=en |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=348–367 |doi=10.1017/S1468109923000130 |issn=1468-1099|doi-access=free }}</ref> Even in education, there is only a footnote about comfort women in Japanese textbooks.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Oi |first1=Mariko |title=What Japanese History Lessons Leave Out |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-2122606814 |website=BBC News |access-date=14 March 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In one example in 2005, the Koizumi Cabinet did not participate, but 47 Diet members visited [[Yasukuni shrine]] for a memorial service at exactly the same time Prime Minister Koizumi was issuing the apology. This was portrayed by South Korean Media as a contradiction and has caused many South Koreans to distrust and discard Japanese statements of apology.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LPOD&mid=tvh&oid=052&aid=0000088272 |title=Japanese apologize statement... However, politicians made a tributary visit |publisher=[[YTN]] |author=Yun Kyung-min |language=ko |date=August 15, 2005 }}</ref>

==== North Korea ====
Prime Minister [[Junichirō Koizumi]], in the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration of 2002,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/n_korea/pmv0209/pyongyang.html|title=MOFA: Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration|access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref> said: "I once again express my feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology, and also express the feelings of mourning for all victims, both at home and abroad, in the war."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/koizumispeech/2005/08/15danwa_e.html|title=Speeches and Statements by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi|access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref>

=== Return of Korean remains ===
In the 1970s, requests were made for Japan to return the remains of around 38,000 Korean people (specifically their noses) from the [[nose tomb]] [[Mimizuka]] in Kyoto. These noses were cut off the faces of people during the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|Japanese invasions of Korea]] from 1592 to 1598.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pennington |first=Richard |date=2019-07-12 |title=Kyoto's notorious Mimizuka |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2023/09/197_272116.html |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=[[The Korea Times]] |language=en}}</ref> The noses have still not been returned to Korea, although some Koreans wish to keep them there as a monument to Japan's brutal treatment of Koreans during the invasion.<ref name="kristof">{{Cite news |last=Kristof |first=Nicholas D. |date=September 14, 1997 |title=Japan, Korea and 1597: A Year That Lives in Infamy |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03EED71E39F937A2575AC0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |access-date=2008-09-22}}</ref>

During the Japanese occupation of Korea (particularly during World War II), Japan mobilized 700,000 laborers from Korea to sustain industrial production, mainly in mining. Some of them eventually returned to Korea after the war, with some dying in Japan during the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombing of Hiroshima]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060605/480100000020060605105721E6.html |title=Yonhap News |access-date=2006-10-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013181735/http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060605/480100000020060605105721E6.html |archive-date=October 13, 2006 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/pre-cold-war/hiroshima-nagasaki/survivors/korean-atomic-bomb-survivors.htm |title=Key Issues: Nuclear Weapons: History: Cold War: Survivors: Korean Atomic Bomb Survivors |publisher=Nuclearfiles.org |date=August 6, 1945 |access-date=April 19, 2012 |archive-date=February 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212190658/http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/pre-cold-war/hiroshima-nagasaki/survivors/korean-atomic-bomb-survivors.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> or the other [[Air raids on Japan|Allied bombings of Japan]]. The high death toll may also have had other causes in the harsh conditions of the war.  Corporations, such as [[Mitsubishi]], [[Mitsui]] and others, stated that the culpability should fall on the government and not on private companies.{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} The government distributed funds to companies for the purposes of worker repatriation. Japanese companies paid out sums at the end of the war to Chinese work leaders intended for Chinese labourers to return home to China, but the money went missing after distribution to the Chinese workers.<ref name="Zmag.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=9703 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225091519/http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=9703 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 25, 2007 |title=ZNet &#124;Japan &#124; Mitsubishi, Historical Revisionism and Japanese Corporate Resistance to Chinese Forced Labor Redress |publisher=Zmag.org |access-date=April 19, 2012 }}</ref> Later, the [[China|People's Republic of China]] and South Korea requested help in finding the dead bodies of kidnapped Chinese and Korean laborers for proper burial.{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} The situation prevented China and South Korea from appropriately coordinating their efforts, and they have only identified a few hundred bodies. In addition, Korean workers began demanding their unpaid wages immediately after Japan's surrender and continue to do so today. The issue remains salient in South Korea.<ref name="Zmag.org" />

=== Return of Korean cultural artifacts ===
The Japanese rule of Korea also resulted in the relocation of tens of thousands of [[cultural artifact]]s to Japan. The issue over where these articles should be located began during the [[Occupation of Japan|U.S. occupation of Japan]].<ref name="TIME">{{cite magazine|last=Macintyre|first=Donald|date=28 January 2002|title=A Legacy Lost|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]|location=New York|issn=0040-781X|url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,197704,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126170109/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,197704,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 26, 2007|access-date=27 June 2009}}</ref> In 1965, as part of the [[Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea]], Japan returned roughly 1,400 artifacts to Korea, and considered the diplomatic matter to have been resolved.<ref>[http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2010/11/14/Japan-Seoul-sign-deal-on-artifact-returns/UPI-21911289751032/ Japan, Seoul sign deal on artifact returns] Nov 14, 2010</ref> Korean artifacts are retained in the [[Tokyo National Museum]] and in the hands of many private collectors.<ref name="newsweek" />

In 1994, hundreds of books of the [[Heart Sutra]] which were donated by the [[Goryeo]] Dynasty to Japan in 1486 were stolen from a temple. The following year, three damaged books out of these hundreds were discovered in South Korea and registered as [[National Treasures of South Korea|National Treasure]] no. 284.<ref>菅野朋子 【特別リポート】消えた「重要文化財を追え！」壱岐・安国寺の寺宝は「韓国の国宝」になっていた！（週刊新潮　2005年10月13日号）</ref> In 2002, thieves stole another medieval gift and a Japanese biography of [[Prince Shōtoku]], and donated them to a temple in Korea.<ref name="newsweek">{{cite journal|last=Itoi|first=Kay|author2=Lee, B.J.|date=21 February 2005|title=KOREA: A TUSSLE OVER TREASURES|journal=[[Newsweek]]|issn=0028-9604|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2005/02/20/korea-a-tussle-over-treasures.html|access-date=14 May 2011}}</ref>

According to the South Korean government, there are 75,311 cultural artifacts that were taken from Korea. Japan has 34,369, the United States has 17,803,<ref name="Chosun Ilbo 2006-10-17">{{cite news |script-title=ko:해외 유출된 한국문화재 총 75,311점...문화재가 조국의 눈길한번 받지 못해 |url=http://press.chosun.com/newsRead.php?md=A01&tm=1&no=194733&cat=1200&cat1=1211 |author=Kim Hak-won (김학원) |publisher=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] / newswire |language=ko |date=2006-10-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708145940/http://press.chosun.com/newsRead.php?md=A01&tm=1&no=194733&cat=1200&cat1=1211 |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and [[France]] has several hundred, which were seized in the [[French expedition to Korea]] and loaned back to Korea in 2010 without an apology.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-05-la-ca-cultural-exchange-korea-20101205-story.html|title=Recovering South Korea's lost treasures|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 5, 2010 |access-date=2016-01-04}}</ref> In 2010, Prime Minister of Japan [[Naoto Kan]] expressed "deep remorse" for the removal of artifacts,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-10/japan-to-return-korea-artifacts-in-occupation-apology.html |title=Bloomberg Business |work=Bloomberg.com |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915141800/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-10/japan-to-return-korea-artifacts-in-occupation-apology.html |archive-date=September 15, 2011 }}</ref> and arranged an initial plan to return the Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty and over 1,200 other books, which was carried out in 2011.<ref>Yoshihiro Makino. "[http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/korean_peninsula/AJ201112080019a Japan returns Korean royal archives after a century] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021160551/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/korean_peninsula/AJ201112080019a |date=October 21, 2012 }}". ''[[Asahi Shimbun]]''. December 8, 2011.</ref>

=== Comfort women ===
{{Main|Comfort women}}
{{See also|Wednesday demonstration}}
[[File:Comfort Women, rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, August 2011 (2).jpg|thumb|Surviving comfort women (in middle row) at a 'Wednesday demonstration' in front of Japanese Embassy in Seoul]]

Many South Koreans have demanded compensation for "comfort women", the women who were forced to work in Imperial Japanese military [[brothel]]s during World War II. Enlisted to the military "comfort stations" through force, including kidnapping, coercion, and deception, the Korean comfort women, most of them under the age of 18, were forced to serve.<ref name="The World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081120194604/http://www.jmss.info/board/History The World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery]}}</ref> As the few surviving comfort women continued to demand acknowledgement and a sincere apology, the Japanese court rejected their compensation claims.<ref>{{cite news|title=Court rejects Korean wartime claim|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1243087.stm|publisher=BBC|date=26 March 2001}}</ref>

In November 1990, {{ill|the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan|ko|한국정신대문제대책협의회|vertical-align=sup}} was established in South Korea. As of 2008, a lump sum payment of 43 million [[South Korean won]] and a monthly payment of [[South Korean won|₩]]0.8 million won were given to the survivors by the Korean government.<ref name="The World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery" /><ref name="Doosan Encyclopaedia article">{{cite web|url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?do|title=일본군 '위안부' : 지식백과|access-date=January 2, 2016}}{{Dead link|date=August 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1993, the government of Japan officially acknowledged the presence of wartime brothels, and set up a private [[Asian Women's Fund]] to distribute donated money and issue official letters of apology to the victims.<ref name="The World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery" /> Today, many of the surviving comfort women are in their 80s. As of 2007, according to South Korean government, there are 109 survivors in South Korea and 218 in North Korea. The survivors in South Korea protest every Wednesday in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, Korea. The protest was held for the 1000th time in December 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbsi.co.kr/news/inside_view.asp?nIdx=537699 |title=Not the normal approach |publisher=Bbsi.co.kr |date=December 14, 2011 |access-date=April 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426075355/http://www.bbsi.co.kr/news/inside_view.asp?nIdx=537699 |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In July 2007, the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] passed a non-binding resolution calling for Japan to apologize for forcing women into sex slavery during World War&nbsp;II. The resolution was sponsored by [[Mike Honda]] (D-CA), a third-generation Japanese-American.<ref name="The World Conference on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12372399|title=U.S. Demands Apology for 'Comfort Women'|date=July 31, 2007|work=NPR.org|access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref> On December 13, 2007, the [[European Parliament]] adopted a resolution demanding that the Japanese government apologize to the survivors of Japan's military sexual slavery system. This resolution was passed with 54 ayes out of 57 parliament members present.<ref>{{cite web|title=European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2007 on Justice for the 'Comfort Women' (sex slaves in Asia before and during World War II)|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2007-0632+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN|website=European Parliament}}</ref>

On December 28, 2015, [[Prime Minister of Japan|Japanese Prime Minister]] [[Shinzō Abe]] and [[President of South Korea|South Korean President]] [[Park Geun-hye]] reached a formal agreement to settle the dispute. Japan agreed to pay [[Japanese yen|¥]]1 billion ([[South Korean won|₩]]9.7 billion; [[US dollar|$]]8.3 million) to a fund supporting surviving victims while South Korea agreed to refrain from criticizing Japan regarding the issue and to work to remove a statue memorializing the victims from in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Adelstein|first1=Jake|last2=Kubo|first2=Angela|title=South Korea and Japan 'finally and irreversibly' reconcile on World War II sex slaves|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-korean-sex-slaves-20151228-story.html|access-date=28 December 2015|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=December 28, 2015}}</ref> The announcement came after [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Japanese foreign minister]] [[Fumio Kishida]] met his counterpart [[Yun Byung-se]] in Seoul, and later Abe phoned Geun-hye to repeat the apologies already offered by Japan. The South Korean government will administer the fund for elderly comfort women.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35188135 |title=Japan and South Korea agree WW2 'comfort women' deal  |date=December 28, 2015 |website=BBCnews.com |publisher=BBC |access-date=December 28, 2015}}</ref> The agreement was firstly welcomed by the majority of the former comfort women (36 out of 47 existed former comfort women at that time) and the payment was received by them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/07/05/national/politics-diplomacy/south-korea-formally-closes-japan-funded-comfort-women-foundation/|title = South Korea formally closes Japan-funded 'comfort women' foundation|date = July 5, 2019}}</ref> However, [[Moon Jae-in]] utilized the criticism against the agreement for his presidential election supported by an activist group, [[the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan]], which criticized the agreement and persuaded the women to deny the payment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/east-asia/south-korea-wants-reopen-comfort-women-wound-japan|title=South Korea Wants to Reopen 'Comfort Women' Wound with Japan}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
After [[Moon Jae-in]] become the president, South Korea government decided again keep the issue of "Comfort Woman" as a dispute between the two countries by discarding the 2015 agreement and shut down the Japan-funded comfort women foundation which was launched in July 2016 to finance the agreement's settlement on November 21, 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/world/asia/south-korea-japan-sex-slaves.html|title = South Korea Signals End to 'Final' Deal with Japan over Wartime Sex Slaves|newspaper = The New York Times|date = November 21, 2018|last1 = Sang-Hun|first1 = Choe}}</ref>

In 2020, a former comfort woman [[Lee Yong-soo (activist)|Lee Yong-soo]] accused [[the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan]] and [[Yoon Mee-hyang]], the former head of the council, of misusing funds and embezzlement. Some newspapers criticize the council and [[Yoon Mee-hyang]] because they seemed to amplify the problem by just criticizing Japan and exploited the former comfort women, although they said they are working for resolve the dispute and working for the former comfort women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200511000829|title = 'Comfort women' advocates deny allegations|date = May 11, 2020}}</ref>

=== Japanese prime ministers' visits to Yasukuni Shrine ===
{{Main|Yasukuni Shrine}}

[[Yasukuni Shrine]] is a [[Shinto shrine]] that memorializes Japanese armed forces members killed in wartime. It was constructed as a memorial during the [[Meiji period]] to house the remains of those who died for Japan. The shrine houses the remains of [[Hideki Tojo]] (東条英機), the Prime Minister and Army Minister of Japan between 1941 and 1944, and 13 other Class A war criminals, from 1978 onwards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?do|title=야스쿠니신사|access-date=January 2, 2016}}{{Dead link|date=August 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Yasukuni Shrine has been a subject of controversy, containing a memorial for 1,043 Japanese and 23 Korean B and C war criminals who were executed, as well as the 14 Japanese A-class war criminals.{{citation needed|date = September 2012}} The presence of these war criminals among the dead honoured at Yasukuni Shrine has meant that visits to Yasukuni have been seen by Chinese and South Koreans as apologism for the wartime era.

[[Yasuhiro Nakasone]] and [[Ryutaro Hashimoto]] visited Yasukuni Shrine in, respectively, 1986 and 1996, and paid respects as Prime Minister of Japan, drawing intense opposition from Korea and China.<ref name="2009 Yonhap News article">{{cite web|url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=104&oid=001&aid=0002620433|title=日 야스쿠니신사 논란 일지|access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref> [[Junichirō Koizumi]] visited the shrine and paid respects six times during his term as Prime Minister of Japan, with the first visit on August 13, 2001, stating that he was "paying homage to the servicemen who died [in the] defense of Japan".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/koizumispeech/2006/08/15interview.html |title=Official interview of Koizumi Junichiro on August 15, 2006 |publisher=Kantei.go.jp |access-date=April 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930192225/http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/koizumispeech/2006/08/15interview.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These visits again drew strong condemnation and protests from Japan's neighbors, mainly [[China]] and South Korea.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/08/14/seoul_ed3__0.php "Koizumi Move Sparks Anger In China and South Korea"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603174716/http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/08/14/seoul_ed3__0.php|date=June 3, 2008}} International Herald Tribune: August 14, 2001.</ref> As a result, the heads of the two countries refused to meet with Koizumi, and there were no mutual visits between Chinese and Japanese leaders after October 2001 and between South Korean and Japanese leaders after June 2005. The [[President of South Korea]], [[Roh Moo-hyun]], had suspended all summit talks between South Korea and Japan until 2008 when he resigned from office.<ref>[http://www.voanews.com/Korean/archive/2006-03/2006-03-17-voa12.cfm 노무현 대통령, “고이즈미 일본총리가 신사참배 중단하지 않으면 정상회담도 없을 것” (영문기사 첨부)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022115819/http://www.voanews.com/Korean/archive/2006-03/2006-03-17-voa12.cfm |date=October 22, 2006 }}</ref> The former prime minister, Shinzō Abe, made several visits to the shrine, the most recent being in December 2013.

=== Nationalist historiography ===
{{See also|Korean nationalist historiography|Japanese history textbook controversies}}

Most anthropologists and historians acknowledge that Japan has historically been actively engaged with its neighbors China and Korea, as well as Southeast Asia.<ref>[http://www.asiasocietymuseum.org/region_main.asp?RegionID=6 ASIA SOCIETY: THE COLLECTION IN CONTEXT] "Not surprisingly, it has historically been actively engaged with its neighbors China and Korea, as well as Southeast Asia."</ref> Among these neighbors, Chinese culture came to Japan from the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?do|title=Culture diffusion from Baekje to Japan (백제문화의 일본전파)|publisher=[[Naver]] / [[Doosan Encyclopedia]]|language=ko}}{{Dead link|date=August 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?do|title=Joseon Tongsinsa (조선통신사)|publisher=[[Naver]] / [[Doosan Encyclopedia]]|language=ko}}{{Dead link|date=August 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Japanese and Korean peoples share closely linked ethnic, cultural and anthropological histories; a point of controversy between nationalist scholars in Japan and Korea rests on which culture came first, and can thus be considered the forebear of the other.

Modern historiography is also a seat of discord. In South Korea, popular debates about "cleansing history" ({{korean|hangul=내역(과거)청산|mr=kwagŏ ch'ŏngsan|rr=gwageo cheongsan}}) focus on finding and recriminating "[[Chinilpa|collaborators]]" with Japanese colonial authorities. In North Korea, the [[songbun]] system of [[ascribed status]] is used to punish citizens with collaborating relatives or ancestors.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/NG18Dg01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717084739/http://atimes.com/atimes/Korea/NG18Dg01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2012-07-17|title=Why can't Koreans see Japan straight?|first=Aidan|last=Foster-Carter|date=2012-07-18|access-date=2012-07-25|publisher=[[Asia Times]]}}</ref>

On the other hand, Japan's [[Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)|Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology]] (MEXT) reviews and approves the content of school history textbooks available for selection by Japanese schools. Foreign scholars, as well as many Japanese historians, have criticized the political slant and factual errors in some approved textbooks. After a textbook by the [[Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform]] (JSHTR) passed inspection in April 2001, the South Korean government, 59 NGOs from South Korea and Japan, and some Japanese teachers' unions, registered objections to certain passages' omission of Imperial [[Japanese war crimes]] including [[comfort women]] and the [[Nanking Massacre|Rape of Nanking]].<ref name="2001 Kookmin Ilbo article">{{cite web|url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=005&aid=0000049613|title=[日 역사교과서 검정통과] 한·일 시민단체 공동 반대 운동 돌입|access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref> Although Tsukurukai's textbook has sold six hundred thousand copies in the general market,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nts-inc.co.jp/topix/syousai/1213.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041103024406/http://www.nts-inc.co.jp/topix/syousai/1213.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2004 |title=Nippan, 2001 |publisher=Nts-inc.co.jp |access-date=April 19, 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://www2.asahi.com/2004senkyo/localnews/TKY200407040200.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060217/http://www.asahi.com/2004senkyo/localnews/TKY200407040200.html|date=March 4, 2016}} ([[Asahi Shimbun]], July 20, 2004 )</ref> it has been adopted by less than 0.39% of Japanese schools.<ref name="2010 Ohmynews article">[http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/view/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0001107382 일 우익교과서 낸 곳은 '듣보잡' 2인 출판사 - 오마이뉴스<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 2010, another textbook by the JSHTR passed inspection and was published by Jiyusha (自由社).<ref name="2010 Ohmynews article" />

=== Issue of pro-Japanese collaborators ===
{{Main|Chinilpa}}
In Korea, people whose ancestors worked or are regarded to have worked for Japanese colonial ruling are criticized. A civic organization publish the list of pro-Japanese collaborators (see [[Chinilpa]]). The list is used to tell who was Japanese friendly and Korean people try to dig up and destroy the tomb of the listed people.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://s.japanese.joins.com/JArticle/269254
|access-date=August 20, 2020 |title=韓国、光復会長「親日清算」祝辞…交錯する反応 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://mnews.joins.com/article/23850310
|access-date=August 20, 2020 |title=김원웅 "이승만, 미국에 빌붙어 대통령 돼 미국 이익 챙겨" |date=August 17, 2020 }}</ref> Korean government accelerate this movement by enacting the [[Special law to redeem pro-Japanese collaborators' property]] in 2005 and nationalize land and other properties owned by descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators.

=== Dispute over different view of history ===
Because of many issues and received education, Japanese and Korean people's views of history are different.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/08/09/national/politics-diplomacy/history-trial-japans-wartime-labor-dispute-another-tit-tat-south-korea/
|access-date=August 20, 2020 |title='History on trial': Why Japan's wartime labor dispute is more than another tit-for-tat with South Korea |date=August 9, 2020 }}</ref> The parts of both views sometimes do not depend on the historical facts but based on the image of movies or novels.{{Citation needed |date= May 2022}}

== Geographic disputes ==

=== Liancourt Rocks ===
{{Main|Liancourt Rocks dispute}}

The [[Liancourt Rocks]],  called Dokdo (독도, 獨島; ''"solitary island"'') in Korean and Takeshima (竹島; ''"bamboo island"'') in Japanese, are a group of islets in the [[Sea of Japan]]{{Circular reference|date=August 2019}} whose ownership is disputed between South Korea and Japan. There are valuable fishing grounds around the islets and potentially large reserves of [[methane clathrate]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Gas exploration off Dokdo|url=http://www.petro-online.com/news/fuel-for-thought/13/aberdeen_university/gas_exploration_off_dokdo/9409/|access-date=December 12, 2011}}</ref>

The territorial dispute is a major source of nationalistic tensions.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/world/asia/31islands.html?pagewanted=all | work=The New York Times | title=Desolate Dots in the Sea Stir Deep Emotions as South Korea Resists a Japanese Claim | first=Choe | last=Sang-Hun | date=August 31, 2008}}</ref> Since the South Korean government bases its legitimacy partly on the notion that it defends South Korea from North Korea in the North and from Japan from the south, nationalism has been stoked over this issue. Korean tourists visit the remote, inhospitable island, in order to show national solidarity.<ref name="nyt" /> In Japan, maps mark the islands as being Japanese territory.

On August 10, 1951, a secret correspondence currently known as the [[Rusk documents]] was sent to South Korea communicating the then U.S. position on issues of territorial sovereignty in the Peace Treaty explaining why the U.S. believed Liancourt Rocks were Japanese territory: "This normally uninhabited rock formation was according to our information never treated as part of Korea and, since about 1905, has been under the jurisdiction of the [[Oki Islands]] Branch Office of [[Shimane Prefecture]] of Japan. The island does not appear ever before to have been claimed by Korea." In September 1954 and March 1962, Japan proposed to South Korea that the dispute be referred to the International Court of Justice, but South Korea rejected the proposals. In 2005, members of the Japanese prefecture of Shimane (the prefecture to which the islands belong according to the Japanese claim) declared "[[Takeshima Day]]", to highlight their territorial claim to the islands.<ref name="nyt" /> Japan again proposed bringing the dispute to the International Court of Justice in August 2012, which was also officially rejected by South Korea on August 30, 2012.

Although the Liancourt Rocks are claimed by both Japan and (both) Koreas, the rocks are controlled by South Korea, which has the [[Korean Coast Guard|South Korean coast guard]] stationed there, as well as two elderly Korean residents.<ref name="globalsecurity">{{Cite web |title=독도경비대 > 독도경비대소개 > 임무 및 주요활동 |url=https://www.gbpolice.go.kr/dokdo/Content.do?coid=4 |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=www.gbpolice.go.kr |language=ko}}</ref>

=== Tsushima ===
{{Main|Tsushima Island dispute}}

A small minority of Koreans claim this island as belonging to Korea, although the South Korean government does not make this claim. Called "Tsushima" in Japanese and "Daemado" in Korean, this island was recorded on the Chinese history book as a territory of Japan from ancient times. This island, as [[Tsushima Province]], has been ruled by Japanese governments since the [[Nara period]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pref.nagasaki.jp/sima/island/tsushima/history.html|title=ながさきのしま｜長崎のしま紹介【対馬】｜}}</ref> According to [[Homer Hulbert]], this island was a dependency to Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.<ref>Homer B. Hulbert, History of Korea Volume I, The Methodist Publishing House (1905) "It is important to notice that the island of Tsushima, whether actually conquered by Silla or not, became a dependency of that kingdom." (Page35)</ref> However, according to the Korean history book [[Samguk Sagi]] written in 1145, Tsushima is ruled by the Japanese from CE 400.<ref>[[Samguk Sagi|三国史記(Samguk Sagi)]] 巻三　新羅本記　三　實聖尼師今条 "七年、春二月、王聞倭人於対馬島置営貯以兵革資糧、以謀襲我　我欲先其末発　練精兵　撃破兵儲"</ref> In the 15th century, [[King Sejong]] of Joseon sent troops to the island and occupied it after demanding it pay taxes to the Korean government.

In 1948, the South Korean government formally demanded that the island be ceded to South Korea based on "historical claims".  However, the claim was rejected by [[Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers|SCAP]] in 1949. On July 19, 1951, the South Korean government agreed that the earlier demand for Tsushima had been dropped by the South Korean government with regards to the Japanese peace treaty negotiations.<ref>The [[Foreign Relations Series]] (FRUS) 1951 VolumeVI P1203. [http://www.geocities.jp/tanaka_kunitaka/takeshima/frus1951.gif Subject:Japanese Peace Treaty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007111718/http://www.geocities.jp/tanaka_kunitaka/takeshima/frus1951.gif |date=October 7, 2018 }}, Participants:Dr. Yu Chan Yang, Korean Ambassador and [[John Foster Dulles]] U.S. Ambassador</ref>

In 2010, a group of 37 members of the South Korean congress formed a forum to study Korea's territorial claims to Tsushima and make outreach efforts to the public. They said that Tsushima was a part of Korean history and that the people on the island are closely related to Koreans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/09/28/2010092801353.html |title="대마도는 우리땅" 여야 의원 37인, 국회 정식포럼 창립 |publisher=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> Yasunari Takarabe, incumbent Mayor of Tsushima rejects the South Korean territorial claim: "Tsushima has always been Japan. I want them to retract their wrong historical perception. It was mentioned in the {{nihongo|Gishiwajinden|{{ill|魏志倭人伝|ja|vertical-align=sup}}}} (a chapter of volume 30 of Book of Wei in the Chinese [[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]) as part of [[Wa (Japan)]]. It has never been and cannot be a South Korean territory."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/douga/20080723/03.shtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904174551/http://www.nagasaki-np.co.jp/douga/20080723/03.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 4, 2012 |title= 【動画】竹島問題で韓国退役軍人が抗議 対馬市民反発で現場騒然 |publisher = The Nagasaki Shimbun |date=July 24, 2008 |access-date=May 15, 2011}}</ref>

=== The Sea of Japan naming dispute ===
{{Main|Sea of Japan naming dispute}}

There is dispute over the international name for this body of water. Japan points out that the name "[[Sea of Japan]]" ({{langx|ja|日本海}}) was used in a number of European maps from the late 18th century to the early 19th century, and that many maps today retain this naming. However, both the North and South Korean governments have protested that Japan encouraged the usage of the name "Sea of Japan" while Korea lost effective control over its foreign policy under Japanese imperial expansion.<ref name="n1">[http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160 Naming of the East Sea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815174553/http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/?sub_num=160 |date=August 15, 2011 }} North East Asia history foundation</ref> South Korea argues that the name "East Sea" or "Korean Eastern Sea" ({{korean|hangul=동해|hanja=東海}}), which was one of the most common names found on old European maps of this sea, should be the name instead of (or at least used concurrently with) "Sea of Japan."

Japan claims that Western countries named it the "Sea of Japan" prior to 1860, before the growth of Japanese influence over Korean foreign policy after the outbreak of the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] in 1894. Further, Japan claims that the primary naming occurred during the period of [[Sakoku]], when Japan had very little foreign contact, and thus Japan could not have influenced the naming decisions.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Issue of the Name of the Sea of Japan|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/maritime/japan/index.html|publisher=Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=August 2, 2010}}</ref>  It was in 1929, when the [[International Hydrographic Organization]]'s ''Limits of Oceans and Seas'' used the name "Sea of Japan", which eventually influenced other official international documents such as the United Nations. South Korea claims that Korea was [[Korea under Japanese rule|occupied by the Japanese]] and effectively had no international voice to protest in 1929.

== Miscellaneous issues ==

=== Statements by Japanese politicians on colonial rule ===
Since the 1950s, many prominent politicians and officials in Japan have made statements on Japanese colonial rule in Korea which created outrage and led to diplomatic scandals in Korean–Japanese relations. The statements have led to [[anti-Japanese sentiment]]s among Koreans, and a widespread perception that Japanese apologies for colonial rule have been insincere and discarded due to these statements.<ref name="2003 Donga Ilbo article">{{cite web|title=이시하라지사 '한일합방은 조선인이 선택한 것'|url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=100&oid=020&aid=0000212070|access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref><ref name="2007 Yonhap News article">{{cite web|title=<연합시론> 일본, 언제까지 망언 되풀이할 것인가|url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=110&oid=001&aid=0001586057|access-date=January 2, 2016}}</ref><ref name="2010 Seoul Shinmoon article">{{cite web|title=되풀이되는 日 고위직 망언 구제불능인가|trans-title=Are the repeated controversial remarks of high-ranking Japanese officials beyond redemption?|url=https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20100329031003|date=March 29, 2010|language=Korean|department=Editorial|access-date=January 2, 2016|newspaper=[[Seoul Shinmun]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title='은혜론'부터 '다케시마'까지…일본 '망언' 끝이 없다|url=http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=200903120492g|access-date=January 2, 2016|work=[[The Korea Economic Daily]]| date=March 12, 2009 }}</ref>

During the talks between Japan and Korea in 1953, Kan'ichirō Kubota, one of the Japanese representatives, stated: "Japanese colonial rule was beneficial to Korea&nbsp;... Korea would have been colonized by other countries anyway, which would have led to harsher rules than Japanese rules." Many Koreans consider this remark to be the first reckless statement made by Japanese politicians about colonial rule in Korea.<ref>[http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0000362887 일본 '구보타 망언' 전략에 말려든 한국 - 오마이뉴스<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

In 1997, [[Shinzō Abe]], then a member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]] and former [[Prime Minister of Japan]], stated: "Many so-called victims of [[comfort women]] system are liars&nbsp;... prostitution was ordinary behavior in Korea because the country had many [[brothels]]."<ref>{{cite web|title=한국아이닷컴!|url=http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/politics/200703/h2007032017454421040.htm|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305201858/http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/politics/200703/h2007032017454421040.htm|archive-date=March 5, 2012}}</ref>

On May 31, 2003, [[Tarō Asō]], then the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications|Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications]] and later Prime Minister, stated that "the [[Sōshi-kaimei|change to Japanese name]] (創氏改名) during Japanese colonial rule was what Koreans wanted".<ref>[http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/view/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0001110796 "3조원대 징용 미불 임금, 아직 일본에 있다" - 오마이뉴스<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

On October 28, 2003, [[Shintaro Ishihara]], then [[Governor of Tokyo]], stated: "The annexation of Korea and Japan was Koreans' choice&nbsp;... the ones to be blamed are the ancestors of Koreans."<ref name="2003 Donga Ilbo article" />

In 2007, [[Hakubun Shimomura]], then Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Japanese government, stated: "The [[comfort women]] system existed, but I believe it was because Korean parents sold their daughters at that time."<ref name="2007 Yonhap News article" />

On March 27, 2010, on the centennial of [[Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty|Japan–Korean annexation]], [[Yukio Edano]], then Japanese Minister of State for Government Revitalization, stated that "The invasion and colonization of China and Korea was historically inevitable&nbsp;... since China and Korea could not modernize themselves."<ref name="2010 Seoul Shinmoon article" />

=== Censorship of Japanese media in South Korea ===
{{Main|Censorship of Japanese media in South Korea}}
After the end of Japanese Occupation, Japanese cultural products such as music, film, and books were banned in both North and South Korea. The boycott was lifted in South Korea starting in 1998. Some Japanese cultural items, including but not limited to [[manga]], [[anime]], and music, have been introduced into South Korea even while they were banned (the South Korean public was not informed of their Japanese origin, though people mostly knew that they were).{{Citation needed|reason=While the younger generation of South Koreans, for the most part, have begun to accept Japanese culture, the older generation have not been so eager to do so.|date=January 2010}}

It is still illegal to broadcast Japanese music and television dramas over terrestrial signals in South Korea.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101114164721/http://www.kr.emb-japan.go.jp/people/rel/meeting/meet_20060321_8.htm "韓国政府による日本文化開放政策(概要)" (Open-door policy of Japanese culture by the Korean government – Overview)] {{in lang|ja}}, Embassy of Japan in South Korea, 30 December 2003. (http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20101114164721%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.kr.emb-japan.go.jp%2Fpeople%2Frel%2Fmeeting%2Fmeet_20060321_8.htm English translation])</ref>

The Japanese anime ''[[Hetalia: Axis Powers]]'', a satire series that personifies various nations created by [[Hidekaz Himaruya]], was banned from airing on the Japanese TV Station, Kid Station, after many protests arrived from South Korea about how the character that represents South Korea was a disgrace and did not represent South Koreans correctly. This is in spite of the fact that a Korean character does not appear in any episode of the animated series, though it appears on web comic versions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-01-13/korean-protests-call-for-hetalia-anime-cancellation |title=Korean Protests Call for Hetalia Anime's Cancellation (Update 2) – News |publisher=Anime News Network |access-date=April 19, 2012}}</ref> The animation continues to see distribution through mobile networks and internet streaming.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

=== Kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korea ===
{{Main|North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens}}

A 13-year-old junior high school student from Niigata, [[Megumi Yokota]], was kidnapped by North Korea on November 15, 1977. In addition to her, many other Japanese citizens were kidnapped by North Korean agents. In 2002, North Korea admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens during the 1970s and 1980s, in order to train spies to infiltrate U.S. military installations in Japan.<ref>{{cite news|author=Chris Fortson |title=Expert speaks on 1980s Japanese kidnappings |url=http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=20393 |publisher=[[Yale Daily News]] |date=October 28, 2002 |access-date=October 11, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228195019/http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=20393 |archive-date=February 28, 2005 }}</ref> Five people have been released, but the North Korean government claimed that there were eight dead. Japan has pressed for the return of the bodies. However, the Japanese government believes that there are still kidnapped Japanese citizens being held captive in North Korea. North Korea's official statement is that the issue has been settled. Because of the overwhelming number of South Koreans also kidnapped by North Korea, there have been some joint efforts by South Korea and Japan to retrieve their citizens.<ref>{{cite news|author=Choe Sang-Hun |title=Abductions unite South Korea and Japan |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/20/news/abduct.php |work=International Herald Tribune |date=April 21, 2006 |access-date=October 11, 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724194051/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/20/news/abduct.php |archive-date=July 24, 2008 }}</ref> The issue remains unresolved, but Japan has insisted on an explanation of what happened to their citizens as a precondition for normalizing relations with North Korea.

=== Korean influence on early Japanese culture ===
{{See also|Korean influence on Japanese culture|Kofun period|Asuka period}}
Archeological evidence shows that Korea has historically acted as a cross-roads through which, as part of a long history of contact, several important Chinese innovations in culture and technology were transferred to Japan. Several linguistic theories{{which |date= January 2022}} make similar points.{{Citation needed |date= January 2022}} In these theories, practices like wet-[[rice]] farming,<ref>{{cite web|title=Road of rice plant |url=http://www.kahaku.go.jp/special/past/japanese/ipix/5/5-25.html |publisher=[[National Science Museum of Japan]] |access-date=15 January 2011 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405000536/http://www.kahaku.go.jp/special/past/japanese/ipix/5/5-25.html |archive-date=April 5, 2015 }}</ref> a new style of pottery,<ref>{{cite web|title=Kofun Period|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kofu/hd_kofu.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|access-date=15 January 2011}}</ref> [[metallurgy]], and writing were introduced from China and Korea.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yayoi Culture|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yayo/hd_yayo.htm|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|access-date=15 January 2011}}</ref> Buddhism was first introduced to Japan from [[Baekje]] in [[Korea]], but the subsequent development of [[Buddhism in Japan|Japanese Buddhism]] was primarily influenced by China.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Brown, Delmer M.|year=1993 |title=The Cambridge History of Japan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=140–149}}</ref> Other cultural artifacts that have now become traditional cultural artifacts of Japan, such as the [[Oil-paper umbrella#Oil-paper umbrella in Japan|oil-paper umbrella]], are also believed{{by whom |date= January 2022}} to have been introduced via Korea.{{Citation needed |date= January 2022}} [[Prince Asa]], a Korean from Baekje, is known to have been [[Prince Shōtoku]]'s tutor.{{Citation needed |date= January 2022}} [[Emperor Kanmu]]'s mother [[Takano no Niigasa]] was of Korean descent, a fact admitted by Emperor Akihito during a press conference in 2001.<ref name="watts">{{cite news |last1=Watts |first1=Jonathan |title=The emperor's new roots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/28/japan.worlddispatch |access-date=2 January 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=28 December 2001}}</ref>

Many national treasures from Japan's early history, such as the [[Kōryū-ji]] sculptures, are based on Korean prototypes or were made in Korea.<ref name="www2.kenyon.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln275/Jap-Kor-art.htm|title=Japanese Art and Its Korean Secret}}</ref> In 1976, Japan stopped all foreign archaeologists from studying the circa 2nd century BC [[Gosashi tomb]] in [[Nara Prefecture]], believed to be the resting place of [[Empress Jingū]].{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} In 2008, Japan allowed controlled, limited access to foreign archaeologists, but the international community still has many unanswered questions.{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}} [[National Geographic Society|National Geographic News]] reported that "the [[Imperial Household Agency|agency]] has kept access to the tombs restricted, prompting rumors that officials fear excavation would reveal bloodline links between the 'pure' imperial family and Korea—or that some tombs hold no royal remains at all.".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080428-ancient-tomb.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501083556/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080428-ancient-tomb.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 1, 2008|title=Japanese Royal Tomb Opened to Scholars for First Time}}</ref>

=== Plagiarism of Japanese products ===
South Korea has been accused of plagiarizing Japanese products.<ref>{{cite news|author=최승현 |title=방송 일본 TV 베끼기 "아직도 그대로네" |url=http://www.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200207/200207230184.html |publisher=[[The Chosun Ilbo]] |date=January 12, 2006 |access-date=October 11, 2007 |language=ko |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721012335/http://www.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200207/200207230184.html |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news  | author=유아정  | title = SC 매거진 TV 오락프로 이대로 좋은가...끊임없는 표절 논란  | url = http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=076&article_id=0000077105  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120712215700/http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=076&article_id=0000077105  | url-status = dead  | archive-date = July 12, 2012  | publisher=[[Sports Chosun]] ([[Naver]]) | date = October 11, 2007 | access-date =October 11, 2007 | language = ko }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=장진리 |script-title=ko:한국 인기 먹거리, 일본 제품 표절 심하네 |url=http://isplus.joins.com/news/general/200707/03/200707031437009206050100000501010005010101.html |publisher=[[Ilgan Sports]] |date=October 11, 2007 |access-date=October 11, 2007 |language=ko |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009183204/http://isplus.joins.com/news/general/200707/03/200707031437009206050100000501010005010101.html |archive-date=October 9, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite news  | author = 이주영  | title = MBC´일밤´´추격남녀´도 표절의혹  | url = http://www.dailian.co.kr/news/n_view.html?kind=rank_code&keys=3&id=24709 | publisher = 데일리안 | date = August 23, 2005 | access-date =October 11, 2007 | language = ko }}</ref><ref>{{cite news  | author = 강지훈 | script-title=ko:가수 노블레스 뮤비, 드라마 '프라이드' 표절 의혹  | url =http://www.mydaily.co.kr/news/read.html?newsid=200701261615121130 | publisher = 데일리안 | date = January 26, 2007 | access-date =October 11, 2007 | language = ko }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| author =고재열| script-title =ko:하늘이시여> 표절 의혹| url =http://zine.media.daum.net/mega/sisapress/200601/12/sisapress/v11372060.html?_right_TOPIC=R7?is_status=http://zine.media.daum.net/mega/sisapress/200601/12/sisapress/v11372060.html?_right_TOPIC=R7| publisher=[[Sisa Journal]]| date =January 12, 2006| access-date =October 11, 2007| language =ko}}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2007, a [[K-pop]] singer, [[Ivy (South Korean singer)|Ivy]], was accused of copying a scene from the Japanese video game movie adaptation ''[[Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children]]'' in one of her music videos. The court ordered that the video be banned from airing on television, stating that "most of the clip is noticeably similar to scenes from the film".<ref>{{cite news  | author = Kim, Tong-hyong  | title = Court Bans Ivy's Music Video  | url = http://news.empas.com/show.tsp/cp_kt/20070406n10443/?kw=temptation%20%3Cb%3E%26%3C%2Fb%3E  | publisher = [[The Korea Times]]  | date = April 6, 2007  | access-date = October 11, 2007  | archive-date = November 14, 2007  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071114221717/http://news.empas.com/show.tsp/cp_kt/20070406n10443/?kw=temptation%20%3Cb%3E%26%3C%2Fb%3E  | url-status = dead  }}</ref>

=== Zainichi Koreans ===
{{Main|Zainichi Korean}}

Koreans are the third largest group of foreign nationals living in Japan, before the [[Chinese people in Japan|Chinese]], [[Filipinos in Japan|Filipinos]], and after the [[Brazilians in Japan|Brazilians]] and [[Peruvians in Japan|Peruvians]]. Ethnicity censuses are not available in Japan, what leaves [[Foreign-born Japanese|naturalized citizens]] that are part of these and other immigrant populations, as well historical groups with their own identity such as the [[Ryukyuan people|Ryukyuans]], the [[Ainu people|Ainu]] and the [[Hāfu|mixed-race Japanese]] invisible, so figures giving [[Yamato people]] an amount of about 98.5% of the Japanese population are very likely exaggerated.

{{nihongo|Zainichi|在日||''resident of Japan''}} Korean refers to ethnic Koreans currently residing in Japan. Most of them are second-, third-, or fourth-generation Koreans who have not applied for Japanese citizenship.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Japanese law asserts that, to be a citizen of Japan, one [[Japanese nationality law#Dual nationality|must abdicate of every other citizenship]]. Some were either forced to relocate to or willingly immigrated to Japan during the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese occupation of Korea]], while others entered Japan illegally in order to escape the [[Korean War]] that took place after the Japanese occupation. They lost their Japanese citizenship after the signing of the [[San Francisco Peace Treaty]], which officially ended the Japanese annexation of Korea and their country of origin, Korea, no longer existed when South Korea and North Korea became separate states. Zainichi communities are split based upon affiliation with North or South Korea ([[Chongryon]] and [[Mindan]]). It is claimed that two or three of the leaders of the smaller [[Bōryokudan|organized crime syndicates]] found on a list of more than twenty such groups as specified by the National Police Agency in Japan may be ethnic Koreans.<ref>[http://mic.e-osaka.ne.jp/boutsui/Measure/list.html]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028075838/http://mic.e-osaka.ne.jp/boutsui/Measure/list.html|date=October 28, 2005}}</ref>

[[Utoro district]], an ethnic enclave of former Korean forced laborers and their families, has been a target of anti-Korean sentiment, with a Japanese man motivated by hatred for Koreans setting fire to a home in the area in 2022.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=McCurry |first=Justin |date=2022-07-18 |title='Utoro is my identity': can a museum heal the scars of Korean migrants in Japan? |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/18/utoro-is-my-identity-can-a-museum-heal-the-scars-of-korean-migrants-in-japan |access-date=2023-09-19 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=McNeill |first1=David |last2=Hippin |first2=Andreas |date=July 6, 2005 |title=Kyoto Korea Town fights for survival |url=https://apjjf.org/-David-McNeill/1813/article.html |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus}}</ref>

More positively speaking, [[Masayoshi Son]] (Son Jeong-ui), a businessman and CEO of Japanese telecom giant [[SoftBank]], is of Zainichi background. In addition, some of Japan's baseball players and martial artists were of Zainichi Korean background, including [[Rikidōzan]] (Kim Sin-rak), [[Mas Oyama]] (Choi Yeong-eui), [[Isao Harimoto]] (Jang Hun), and [[Masaichi Kaneda]] (Kim Kyung-hong). To avoid discrimination, some Zainichi Koreans have adopted Japanese names. Today, however, as the relationship between Japan and South Korea has improved, there also exist many Zainichi Koreans or former Zainichi Koreans with Japanese nationality who do not hide their origin and are in full activity, such as [[Yu Miri]], an [[Akutagawa Prize]]-winning playwright and [[Tadanari Lee]] (Lee Chung-Sung), a Japanese football player of Korean origin.

=== Kimchi exports ===
In the 1990s, a dispute arose regarding the marketing of [[kimchi]], considered to be a traditional Korean dish. Kimchi was growing in popularity, and its consumption and production were expanding. Korean manufacturers, however, argued that Japanese kimchi is fundamentally different, in that Japanese manufacturers often skip fermentation and mimic the flavors through the use of additives. South Korean producers argued that this made the product fundamentally different from kimchi, while Japanese producers{{who|date=March 2012}} argued they were simply altering the product to fit local tastes. In 2000, South Korea began lobbying the makers of the [[Codex Alimentarius]], an international food-standards maker which provides voluntary advice to national food agencies, to designate kimchi as only that which is produced in the traditional Korean style.<ref name="NYT">Sims, Calvin (February 2000) [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/05/business/cabbage-cabbage-not-kimchi-lovers-koreans-take-issue-with-rendition-their.html?scp=1&sq=Ever+since+Japan+colonized+the+Korean+peninsula+during+the+first+half+of+the+20th+century,+Koreans+have+harbored+an+underlying+resentment+toward+the+Japanese.&st=cse&pagewanted=all "Cabbage Is Cabbage? Not to Kimchi Lovers; Koreans Take Issue with a Rendition of Their National Dish Made in Japan"].  ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> In 2001, the Codex Alimentarius published a voluntary standard defining kimchi as "a fermented food that uses salted napa cabbages as its main ingredient mixed with seasonings, and goes through a lactic acid production process at a low temperature", but which did not specify a minimum amount of fermentation or forbid the use of additives.<ref>[http://www.codexalimentarius.net/download/standards/365/CXS_223e.pdf CODEX STANDARD FOR KIMCHI] The Codex Alimentarius Commission</ref>

=== Ban on Japanese seafood products ===

From 2013, South Korea banned all [[seafood products]] imported from Fukushima and seven other Japanese prefectures, due to concerns of [[radioactive contamination]] from the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/06/south-korea-fish-japan-fukushima |title= South Korea bans fish imports from Japan's Fukushima region |date= Sep 6, 2013 |first= Justin |last= McCurry |publisher= Guardian }}</ref> The Japanese government strongly opposes South Korea's decision on placing the ban, insisting that the country's fisheries exports are safe for consumption, with stringent inspection procedures in place.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fishery-korea-japan-idUSBRE9850A420130906 |title= South Korea extends Japan fisheries ban as Fukushima concerns grow |date= Sep 6, 2013 |publisher= Reuters |first1= Meeyoung |last1= Cho |first2= Mari |last2= Saito }}</ref> The ban led Japan to consider taking the issue to the [[World Trade Organization]]'s dispute settlement process. In April 2019, the WTO upheld the ban.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2019-04-12/wto-upholds-south-korean-ban-on-fukushima-seafood| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190413141736/https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2019-04-12/wto-upholds-south-korean-ban-on-fukushima-seafood| archive-date = 2019-04-13| title = WTO Upholds South Korean Ban on Fukushima Seafood {{!}} Business News {{!}} US News}}</ref>

=== Trade conflict ===
{{Main|2019–2020 Japan–South Korea trade dispute}}

In October and November 2018, there was a decision by the [[Supreme Court of Korea]] and many high courts in the country that ordered many Japanese companies, including [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]], Nachi-Fujikoshi Corporation, and [[Nippon Steel]] to compensate the families of South Koreans who were unfairly treated and illegally forced to supply labor for World War II war efforts. This decisions angers the Japanese government, who claim that the issue was settled under the 1965 treaty of normalization of two countries’ bilateral ties.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/s-korea-court-orders-japans-mitsubishi-to-pay-compensation-for-wartime-forced-labor/2018/11/28/4f0a6616-f37e-11e8-9240-e8028a62c722_story.html|title=S. Korea oourt orders Japan's Mitsubishi to pay compensation for wartima labor|newspaper=Washington Post|date=2018-11-29|access-date=2018-11-30}}</ref> The Japanese government then, in retaliation, announced they would tighten chemical exports which are vital to South Korean semiconductor industry, such as [[Hydrogen Fluoride]], resist, and [[Polymide|fluorinated polyimide]] on July 1, 2019. These controls, according to the Japanese government, are in place because South Korea fails to comply with Japanese export control security regulations. But South Korea rejects the Japanese government's claims, saying that the move was "economic retaliation".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190701/p2g/00m/0na/051000c|title=Japan to restrict semiconductor-related exports to S. Korea|website=The Mainichi|access-date=5 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729213526/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190701/p2g/00m/0na/051000c|archive-date=July 29, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Coronavirus pandemic ===
Diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea worsened due to the [[2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in Asia|2020 coronavirus pandemic]]. South Korea criticised Japan's "ambiguous and passive quarantine efforts", after Japan started to implement travel bans and quarantine measures to limit the spread of the virus from Korea.<ref>{{cite news |title=Coronavirus quarantine plans ignite row between South Korea and Japan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/coronavirus-quarantine-plans-ignite-row-between-south-korea-and-japan |work=The Guardian |date=6 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Japan and Korea Won't Let A Pandemic Stop Them Fighting |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/12/japan-and-korea-wont-let-a-pandemic-stop-them-fighting/ |work=[[Foreign Policy]] |date=12 March 2020}}</ref>

=== Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant ===
{{Main|Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant}}
Japan's decision to release Fukushima waste water in April 2021 has emerged as a new source of tensions between the two countries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=South Korea weighs fighting Fukushima water plan at tribunal|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-South-Korea-rift/South-Korea-weighs-fighting-Fukushima-water-plan-at-tribunal|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[Nikkei Asia]]|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Immediately after Japan announced its plans, the South Korean government swiftly condemned the decision and summoned the Japanese ambassador to Seoul to issue a strong protest.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jun-tae|first=Ko|date=2021-04-13|title=Korea condemns Japan's decision to release water from Fukushima|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210413000889|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[The Korea Herald]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-14|title=S.Korea aims to fight Japan's Fukushima decision at world tribunal|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skoreas-moon-seeks-international-litigation-over-japans-fukushima-water-decision-2021-04-14/|access-date=2021-07-01|website=Reuters}}</ref> Civil protests have ensued across the country as a result of Japan's decision.<ref>{{Cite web|last=유 |first=청모|date=2021-04-16|title=Protests against Japan's Fukushima decision spreading in S. Korea|url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210416011000315|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Frank|title=Protests grow in South Korea over Japan's Fukushima water plan|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/3/protests-grow-in-south-korea-over-japan-fukushima-disposal-plan|access-date=2021-07-01|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=sun|first=Gha Hee|date=2021-04-29|title=[Photo News] South Korean civic groups' strong petition against Japan's Fukushima water release|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210429001071|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[The Korea Herald]]|language=en}}</ref> The South Korean government has been considering legal action against Japan, and various South Korean civil groups and associations have considered the same.<ref>{{Cite web|last=NEWS|first=KYODO|title=South Korea eyes legal action to stop water release from Fukushima plant|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/04/4cdef5ddc6ac-breaking-news-s-korea-mulls-taking-fukushima-water-release-to-intl-court.html|access-date=2021-07-01|website=Kyodo News+}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-13|title=S.Korean fishermen sue Japanese govt over Fukushima water -Yonhap|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skorean-fishermen-sue-japanese-govt-over-fukushima-water-yonhap-2021-05-13/|access-date=2021-07-01|website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=김 |first=나영|date=2021-04-22|title=Korean civic group starts litigation against Japan's Fukushima decision|url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210422007800315|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|language=en}}</ref> Furthermore, South Korea is seeking the cooperation of other countries, such as the U.S., Denmark, and other G7 countries, for support on the issue.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-18|title=South Korea conveys serious concern over Fukushima water to Kerry|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/04/18/national/south-korea-john-kerry-u-s-fukushima-radiation-3-11/|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[The Japan Times]]|language=en-US|archive-date=July 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703043921/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/04/18/national/south-korea-john-kerry-u-s-fukushima-radiation-3-11/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=오 |first=석민|date=2021-04-27|title=(LEAD) S. Korea seeks Denmark's cooperation over Japan's Fukushima water release plan|url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210427012151325|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=송 |first=상호|date=2021-04-29|title=FM Chung to attend G7 ministerial talks in London next week|url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210429006600325|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|language=en}}</ref> The dispute escalated further in June 2021 as the South Korean parliament adopted a resolution condemning Japan's waste water discharge plan, which had passed with support across the political spectrum.<ref>{{Cite web|last=유 |first=청모|date=2021-06-29|title=(LEAD) Parliament adopts resolution against Japan's Fukushima water release plan|url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210629005351315|access-date=2021-07-01|website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Japan|North Korea|South Korea}}
* [[2018 Japan–South Korea radar lock-on dispute]]
* [[386 Generation]]
* [[American cover-up of Japanese war crimes]]
* [[Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea]]
* [[Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan]]
* [[Eugenics in Japan]]
* [[Hanshin Education Incident]]
* [[Hashima Island]]
* [[History of Japan–Korea relations]]
* [[Japan–North Korea relations]]
* [[Japan–South Korea relations]]
* [[Japanese nationalism]]
* [[Korea under Japanese rule]]
* [[Korean ethnic nationalism]]
* [[Racism in Japan]]
* [[Racism in South Korea]]
* [[Sōshi-kaimei]]
* [[Uyoku dantai]]
* [[Voluntary Agency Network of Korea]]
* [[Zaitokukai]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Cha |first=Victor D. |year=1999 |title=Alignment despite Antagonism: the US-Korea-Japan Security Triangle |location=Stanford |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=0-8047-3191-8 }}
*  Deacon, Chris (2021). [https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2021.1897652 (Re)producing the 'history problem': memory, identity and the Japan-South Korea trade dispute] (''The Pacific Review'').
* {{cite book |last=Dudden |first=Alexis |year=2008 |title=Troubled Apologies Among Japan, Korea, and the United States |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-14176-5 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lee |first=Chong-Sik |year=1963 |title=The Politics of Korean Nationalism |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press }}
* {{cite book |last=Lee |first=Chong-Sik |author-mask=3 |year=1985 |title=Japan and Korea: The Political Dimension |location=Stanford |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=0-8179-8181-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lind |first=Jennifer |year=2008 |title=Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics |location=Ithaca |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-4625-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sorrystatesapolo00lind }}
* {{cite book |last=Myers |first=Ramon Hawley |year=1984 |title=The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895–1945 |location=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-05398-7 |display-authors=etal}}
* {{cite book |last=Morley |first=James |year=1965 |title=Japan and Korea |url=https://archive.org/details/japankoreaameric0000morl |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Walker }}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160103011609/https://www.womenandwar.net/contents/home/home.nx Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan]
* [http://www.mindan.org/eng/about/history.php History of Mindan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018011654/http://www.mindan.org/eng/about/history.php|date=}}
* [http://www.mindan.org/eng/newspaper/index.php Online Newspaper covering Zainichi Korean and Mindan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029063124/http://www.mindan.org/eng/newspaper/index.php|date=}}

{{Foreign relations of Japan}}
{{Foreign relations of North Korea}}
{{Foreign relations of South Korea}}
{{Asia in topic|Foreign relations of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan-Korea Disputes}}
[[Category:Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea]]
[[Category:Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan]]
[[Category:Japan–Korea relations|Disputes]]
[[Category:International disputes]]