South Korea and Japan mark August in special ways. South Korea honors the spirit of independence and renews its resolve for peace and prosperity, while Japan looks back on its history of defeat and pledges to contribute to international peace. The two countries still differ widely in how they address issues of the past, but both have long placed weight on a forward-looking partnership. This year's August 15 commemorative addresses by the two nations' leaders did not stray from that framework.
The publics of both countries also value the bilateral relationship. According to a joint survey by the East Asia Institute and Japan's International House, 79% of Koreans and 57% of Japanese said the Korea-Japan relationship is important. But when asked whether they could trust the other country, only 37% of Koreans and 25% of Japanese said yes, revealing a persistent "trust gap." Because distrust is so easily stirred in Korea-Japan relations by a single remark from a political leader, this shows that those in key government and parliamentary posts must work hard to build trust.
Fortunately, favorability is rising in both countries. In 2020, at its worst, Koreans' favorable view of Japan stood at just 12%, but in this year's joint survey it climbed to 54%. Japan's figure likewise improved from 20% in 2019 to 35% this year. Everyday experiences such as travel, popular culture and consumer goods played a decisive role. In particular, those who had visited Japan were 23 percentage points more likely to hold a favorable impression than those who had not. This is why people in their 20s and 30s, who have a broad base of direct and indirect exchange, view Korea-Japan relations more positively than other generations.
There is, however, a gap in the areas of cooperation the two publics expect. While 58% of Japanese cited security cooperation as a reason the relationship matters, only 44% of Koreans did. By contrast, the share citing economic interdependence was higher among Koreans (48%) than Japanese (33%). For Korea, which endured colonial rule, security cooperation remains a delicate area, but for Japan, which feels China's threat firsthand, it is an urgent task. Koreans were more receptive to the idea of a Korea-Japan economic community, with 37% agreeing, compared with just 9% of Japanese — a result that reflects a view still not treating Korea as an equal economic partner.
No less important than public opinion are the role and executive capacity of the two countries' leaders. Since taking office, President Lee Jae-myung held three summits with former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. After Sanae Takaichi took office as prime minister, the two held a first meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju last October, a second in Nara Prefecture, Japan, this January, and a third in Andong in May. At the January meeting, the leaders broadened the scope of cooperation beyond the recurring agenda of coordination on North Korea and matters of the past, such as identifying the remains from the Chosei coal mine, to include economic security, science and technology, artificial intelligence (AI), intellectual property protection and a joint response to transnational crime. More recently, reflecting the unstable situation in the Middle East, they agreed to strengthen cooperation in energy areas including supply chains, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil. Korea is seeking Japan's active support for its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), while Japan is calling for the conclusion of an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) and the lifting of the ban on imports of Fukushima seafood, but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement.
Amid a grave environment in which U.S. leadership is wavering and the alignment among North Korea, China and Russia is tightening, Korea and Japan must move faster on substantive cooperation. If political and military security cooperation is difficult in the short term, they should first focus on "economic security." This is much the same context in which Europe is strengthening regional economic-security solidarity amid the unilateral tariff pressure of the Donald Trump administration and China's weaponization of resources and dumping offensive. For Korea, which is heavily dependent on the United States and China but short of leverage of its own, the most realistic partner for building a joint economic-security front is Japan. That is because the two countries share the same risk factors from disruptions to supply chains in rare earths, energy and key industrial components. The two governments should work together with their relevant companies to identify concrete items of economic-security cooperation and ways to build leverage.
The globalization of trade and finance has handed great powers the formidable ability to see through information and to cut off access to networks. To properly rein in situations where great powers weaponize asymmetric interdependence, middle powers must build resilience through mutual cooperation. Only then can they defend both their economic sovereignty and sustainable growth. The two leaders' resolve to make Korea-Japan economic-security cooperation — the starting point for this — a success is more urgent than ever.
