Japan rejects reports of South Korean President's visit during Olympics and meet with Suga

As bilateral ties between both countries remain tense, Japan on June 15 dismissed a media report stating that South Korean President Moon Jae-in is planning a visit to Japan at the time of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and have talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. The Yomiuri daily on Tuesday has reported that along with a visit to Japan during the Olympics that is set to run from July 23 to August 8, South Korea’s Blue House is expecting Moon will also hold the first-ever talks with Suga. The media outlet did not cite any source. However, dismissing the report, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference, “There is no truth to that report.”

Separately, news agency ANI reported on June 14 that Japan has unilaterally called off a meeting between Suga and Moon over the South Korean military’s manoeuvres in the East Sea territory to defend the disputed Dokdo Island. The first-ever talks between Japan and South Korea were reportedly agreed on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in the UK seaside resort of Carbis Bay from June 11 to June 13.  

The South Korean foreign ministry official reportedly said, “From the beginning, our side, with an open mind, expected Japan to respond," the official told Yonhap, adding that "it is regrettable that the Japanese side did not respond to the pull-aside plan, which the two sides had agreed on at a working level, due to the annual drills to safeguard the East Sea territory.”

Japan-South Korea faction over islets

Faction between Japan and South Korea has spanned for several decades involving the disagreement with islets known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea. However, tensions have flared in recent years as Seoul lodged a protest over the map of the Tokyo Olympics website that marked the islands as Japanese territory. As per Japanese news agency Kyodo, the meeting between Suga and Moon remain off the table until the territorial dispute is resolved. The islets in the centre of the dispute, the Liancourt Rocks also lie at an almost equivalent distance from Japan and South Korea with Seoul maintaining a small police force in the area. The island group is reportedly rich in natural resources. 

IMAGE: AP