Do you think theres a chance Korea and Japan could ever have a friendly or atleast better relationship?

[PALEMOCHI]

Disscus.

i've been reading alot of articles and etc on this lately inculding the stuff about China & Japan and those islands

and i wanted to know what other people thought 

 

 

[PALEMOCHI]

 

 here are a few articles ive read -  http://japandailypress.com/tag/japan-korea-relations/ + this from december 2012 http://nation.time.com/2012/12/11/why-japan-is-still-not-sorry-enough/ 

 

[Darius]

Are you talking about government or the people? If the former, then yes. If not, then not a chance in hell. The hate for each other is deeply rooted in each society and it would take generations for that to change. It's not a given it'll ever change either due to certain events from the past.

[DragonFury]

Considering their mutual history I'd say they're pretty damn friendly right now.

[Cuquri]

I don't know permanently. But if temporary, I can imagine them banding together when China starts claiming both their countries land. 

[Jezebel]

Yes. Look at how far cultural relations have progressed in comparison to 50 years ago.

[SAYAKA]

Well yes. Look at where they are now compared to maybe 40 or more years ago. Honestly it can only be better with time (that is if nothing bad happens that would ruin any relations between the two)

 

[CALICO CAT]

I don't know about the government, there's still too many disputes open

but the people/society, sure. It just needs time. (But then I read articles like these every other day and I don't know what to think otl: http://www.japancrush.com/2013/stories/survey-reveals-that-70-of-japanese-dont-trust-south-korea.html)

[MintWasted]

Yes, on a person level. People travel to both countries for study, tourism or business and share culture all the time now.

 

I don't think the strain from occupation, WWII and islands will go away from politics though for a long time. Maybe it'll take another 50 years.

[PALEMOCHI]

Considering their mutual history I'd say they're pretty damn friendly right now.

 

really? o.o

[YIXINGISM]

There is still hope.

[HvD]

One of the major reasons why China and Korea still have grudges towards Japan is because they've never formally apologized for the atrocities they committed during Japanese Colonial Period and the World Wars.  The Rape of Nanjing is a great example of the kind of horrible things they did China in the past (Read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_massacre; be wary of the pictures in the wiki page...).  Not only have they not apologized for their wrongdoings, but they also still worship and pay their respects to the military generals who were involved in those unspeakable war crimes they've committed.  In addition to that, events like the Rape of Nanjing are not taught in Japan.

 

It's only after half a century later, that Japan decided to issue an apology for all the pain and suffering they've caused all over Asia.  However, China demanded a written apology, which Japan never fulfilled...  

 

So to answer your question... 

 

Well I'm not even sure myself.

[Timmeon]

It will take some time but I'm positive about it. And there will have to be some compromises from bot sides politically.

Japan will have to mend wounds over the happenings of WWII and the colonization by (for example) attending South Korean memorials and have a firm apologetic stance that extends over party lines and premier ministers.

(As a German I'm always thinking about the Warsaw Genuflection by Willy Brandt which got the peace process between Poland and Germany going.)

 

Korea will have to let Japanese pop culture into their country like Japan lets Korean pop culture into theirs and be not so adverse to things Japanese. And accept an apology for what it is and not turn a deaf ear to it just out of spite.

 

The younger generation on both sides is much more open and friendly to each other. (That free hug video in the other thread showed that.) The wrongs of times past will matter less and less as time goes on. And as long as both sides stay politically reasonable and the economic situation is stable to avoid widespread surfacing of old resentments, I see both countries having a good, friendly relationship with eachother in a couple of decades.

 

China and Japan on the other hand... Now that's a lot thougher. (Especially as things stand at the moment.)

 

Edit: And I agree the relationship is already reasonably friendly as things stand.

[Substation]

It looks absolutely horrible on the internet but it's not THAT bad. If you don't watch TV or read news, you wouldn't easily notice there is such animosity.

[fartsniffer]

if Turkey and Greece can actually be amicable then nothing is impossible.

 

it did take a tragedy to make them forget their hostilities though

[Seras]

What's up with all the Japanese-Korean threads lately O_O

 

Anyways, if by friendly you mean completely (or mostly) forgiving, forgetting the past and becoming all buddy-buddy with each other, I highly doubt it.

 

Both South Korea and China have been waiting for over 70 years for Japan to admit to all their war crimes and take a firm stance on apologizing for it. Of course there has been some politicians who did make statements apologizing but every time, another asshole politician would come forth spewing crap that obliterates any meaning those former apologies had. It's ridiculous how long this has dragged out and yet there still hasn't been any improvements simply because Japan sees their past as "self-torturing views of history".

 

And I'm not sure why people are bringing up that one video of the Hugs for Korea-Japan Peace as if it is a true indicator of how Japanese youths feel. Just as there are some who feel friendly towards Korea (I'm willing to bet a lot of them are kpop/k-drama fans too) doesn't mean there aren't also young people who hate Korea and are becoming increasingly nationalistic. Those netuyo protests are composed of both old AND young people. 

 

http://www.japancrush.com/2012/stories/is-it-trendy-to-be-right-wing-asks-article-netizens-react.html

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm5rvdIKyc0 

 

So again, will Japan and Korea ever become friendly in a true, genuine, deep down to the grassroots manner? Probably not. But I can see them fairing much better than say China and Japan, at least when it comes to pretending to be friendly so that they can mutually benefit via business, trade, etc. 

 

On the other hand China and Japan relations seem to be getting only worse over time. Not surprised when you've got old, greedy codgers running the CCP  and China-obsessed Abe with his goons in power. 

[PALEMOCHI]

What's up with all the Japanese-Korean threads lately O_O

 

Anyways, if by friendly you mean completely (or mostly) forgiving, forgetting the past and becoming all buddy-buddy with each other, I highly doubt it.

 

Both South Korea and China have been waiting for over 70 years for Japan to admit to all their war crimes and take a firm stance on apologizing for it. Of course there has been some politicians who did make statements apologizing but every time, another asshole politician would come forth spewing crap that obliterates any meaning those former apologies had. It's ridiculous how long this has dragged out and yet there still hasn't been any improvements simply because Japan sees their past as "self-torturing views of history".

 

And I'm not sure why people are bringing up that one video of the Hugs for Korea-Japan Peace as if it is a true indicator of how Japanese youths feel. Just as there are some who feel friendly towards Korea (I'm willing to bet a lot of them are kpop/k-drama fans too) doesn't mean there aren't also young people who hate Korea and are becoming increasingly nationalistic. Those netuyo protests are composed of both old AND young people. 

 

http://www.japancrush.com/2012/stories/is-it-trendy-to-be-right-wing-asks-article-netizens-react.html

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm5rvdIKyc0 

 

So again, will Japan and Korea ever become friendly in a true, genuine, deep down to the grassroots? Probably not. But I can see them fairing much better than say China and Japan, at least when it comes to pretending to be friendly so that they can mutually benefit via business, trade, etc. 

 

On the other hand China and Japan relations seem to be getting only worse over time. Not surprised when you've got old, greedy codgers running the CCP  and China-obsessed Abe and his goons in power. 

 

yeah that china-japan relation is just horrible right now.

i think japanese netizens hate china more then korea if im not mistaken?

i saw a survey on that japancrush site somewhere say 

 

"Those who feel friendly towards the Chinese: 18%

Those who feel friendly towards the Koreans: 39.2%"

 

[Seras]

yeah that china-japan relation is just horrible right now.

i think japanese netizens hate china more then korea if im not mistaken?

i saw a survey on that japancrush site somewhere say 

 

"Those who feel friendly towards the Chinese: 18%

Those who feel friendly towards the Koreans: 39.2%"

 

 

South Korea isn't a threat to them, security wise because both South Korea and Japan have alliances with the US military. China however is and China's been thirsty for revenge so I'm not surprised to be honest. 

 

It's not helping that both parties in power in China and Japan aren't doing much to mend relations. In fact, it seems like they're only speaking sweet words to the media but their actions are the exact opposite. It's a quite shame.

[PALEMOCHI]

South Korea isn't a threat to them, security wise because both South Korea and Japan have alliances with the US military. China however is and China's been thirsty for revenge so I'm not surprised to be honest. 

 

It's not helping that both parties in power in China and Japan aren't doing much to mend relations. In fact, it seems like they're only speaking sweet words to the media but their actions are the exact opposite. It's a quite shame.

 

if this thing countines the US could possibly get south korea and japan to make up because china's air defense zone not only upset japan but also sk because part of the air zone overlaps South Korea’s own air defense area so God only knows whats gonna happen tbh.

[Seras]

if this thing countines the US could possibly get south korea and japan to make up because china's air defense zone not only upset japan but also sk because part of the air zone overlaps South Korea’s own air defense area so God only knows whats gonna happen tbh.

 

I don't think the US can get them to "make up" in the sense that they will forgive and forget everything in the past. More like the US will act as a leeway for Japan and Korea to have a common interest regarding this new air defense area and that's it. I honestly doubt anything further will develop. South Korea has too much of an ingrained hatred against Japan, and vice versa. 

 

The core issues that each of these countries have with each other will still be unresolved, even if they work together to get China to retract their air defense zone. So essentially they would be back at zero again. And the US has been quipping in about how they need to mend ties but the US isn't going to take the initiative and do anything to persuade them. They have their own agenda. 

[mochichan]

Younger generations are more accepting. It's the older gen that keep the hate.

Government wise it just depend if more liberal take offices.