South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone; though it also claims the land border with China and Russia. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of 51.96 million, of which half live in the Seoul Capital Area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world. Other major cities include Busan, Daegu, and Incheon. [w]

Korea Urges Japan to Recognize Joint History

From The Yomiuri Shimbun:

Japan should reaffirm its recognition of history in a proposed joint declaration with South Korea next year, outgoing South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.

Yun reiterated hopes that Japanese and South Korean leaders will announce such a declaration in 2025 to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Japan has always considered its history of Korea, and all the negative aspects of it including comfort women, to be a closed book that should never be invoked. Doubt this will change that policy.

Japan’s Relationship with NATO and the Wider Mesh of Western Security

Riley Walters from Nikkei:

While Japan can never become an official member of the regional alliance, its participation in the organization's activities and cooperation with its member states is increasingly important as it develops its defense capacity.

There are limits to Japan's partnership with NATO. The organization cannot come to the defense of Japan, even if it were to enter conflict with Russia, China, or North Korea. But NATO's member states, especially the U.S., could certainly support Japan with military and nonmilitary support, if necessary. Beyond the mutual defense agreement of the NATO treaty (Article 5), there are other aspects of the treaty that allow for institution building and capacity training between NATO, its members and Japan.

This is a good explainer article about how Japan fits into the western security umbrella and how it could come to the nation’s aid in the event of conflict.

Japan to Join NATO Summit With Other Pacific Nations

Hiroshi Tajima from The Yomiuri Shimbun:

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is scheduled to hold a summit meeting with Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand on Thursday on the sidelines of a NATO summit, which is set to begin Tuesday in Washington, a U.S. government official said Friday.

NATO and the four countries are expected to discuss cyber affairs, countermeasures against false information and Ukraine aid, while keeping China and Russia in mind.

Japan Prepare for Hotter Summer than 2023, Shuns Air Conditioning

Julian Ryall & Park Chan-kyong from South China Morning Post:

The poll also revealed 10 per cent of Japanese have set out to “tolerate” the heat no matter what in the coming months, while a further 33 per cent said they would try not to use the cooling device – but expected to relent if the temperatures become unbearable.

Alarmingly, most those saying they would attempt to get through the summer without air conditioning were elderly who live on pensions and savings, leaving them highly vulnerable to heatstroke.

This is more than just a climate crisis, it is now going to be a health and economic crisis.

Japan to Strengthen Alliances to Defend Against Russia and North Korea

Julian Ryall from South China Morning Post:

Alarmed by a new security deal between Russia and North Korea, Japan is poised to bolster its defensive alliances and ramp up multinational military drills in the months ahead – though analysts doubt the Moscow-Pyongyang pact will significantly alter Tokyo’s defence spending or posture.

The wall is getting stronger against the Russian sphere both in Europe and now in East Asia. This is either some kind of 8-dimensional chess by Putin or really grasping at the final straws.

European Union Looking for Security Partners in Japan and Korea

From Reuters:

The European Union is seeking security and defence industry partnerships with Japan and South Korea aimed at joint development of military equipment, the Nikkei reported on Sunday, citing a senior EU commission official.

These would mark the EU's first such security and defence-related collaboration with Asian nations, the Japanese business newspaper said in a report from Brussels that did not identify the official.

More defense alliances forming...

The Divorce of Naver and Softbank

River Akira Davis from The New York Times:

Executives from South Korea’s Naver and Japan’s SoftBank Group said they would jointly own the operator of Line, a South Korean-developed messaging app popularized in Japan. They gave the project a code name that emphasized cooperation: Gaia.

But late last year, cracks started opening in the Naver-Softbank venture.

Paywalled, but a good retelling of a century of strained relations between Japan and South Korea through the tale of a little green app called Line. For me, the cute stickers are the only good part of the Line ecosystem. The messaging portion of the app remains much like it was a decade ago and competitors like WhatsApp and Messages are taking laps around it. But it is still the king of text communication in Japan and no one seems able to topple it.

Fuel and Staff Shortages Force Foreign Carriers to Pull Out of Regional Airports

From Nikkei:

Australia's Qantas Airways has joined a number of carriers forgoing scheduling flights to and from regional Japanese airports as Japan faces a ground airport staff shortage and an acute fuel shortage also looms.

Earlier this year, Qantas had been assessing recommencing seasonal flying to Sapporo for the next ski season in Hokkaido in the north. But a specific plan did not materialize due to supplier constraints at the airport, including labor shortages. Qantas had discussions with local airport stakeholders but did not enter the government filing process, and thus did not schedule any flights.

The article cites closing domestic oil refineries and trucker shortages as the reasons for these decreases in service. Once those are addressed, one would hope that these carriers return, but there is no guarantee. For Sapporo and other destinations in Hokkaido especially, it would be a huge blow to tourism and connectivity for residents.