[Edaily Editorial] In the era of President Ishiba, there should be no wavering in Japan-Korea friendship and cooperation = Korean media

Shigeru Ishiba, president of the Japanese Democratic Party, was elected as the 102nd Prime Minister of Japan at the extraordinary Diet session yesterday, and the Ishiba administration was launched. Japan-Korea relations, which had been pushed to the worst in history under the Moon Jae-in administration, have been on a downward spiral since the Yoon administration.
This is a major change that comes about one year after shuttle diplomacy was revived based on the mutual efforts of President Seok-youl and former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Given that Prime Minister Ishiba is more moderate and places more importance on Japan-South Korea relations than the defeated far-right candidate, Takaichi Sanae, it is expected that the current good relationship will be maintained.
Many foreign affairs experts and scholars are optimistic about Japan-Korea relations. They say that the Ishiba administration will be the same as the second Kishida administration.
Some have even said that he is a "security nerd." This is because he was elected with the help of the Kishida camp in the final election, and he has retained in his position people who held key positions in the Kishida administration.
Ishiba, who is a former Prime Minister, is said to be well aware of the need for security cooperation with South Korea. He also expressed a negative view of visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, saying, "We must apologize for the issue of comfort women in the Japanese military."
This fact also gives us hope that Japan will be compatible with South Korea. However, we should not have excessive expectations. There have been many cases where a small incident or a word from a politician has caused things to move in an unexpected direction.
Given the history of Japan-Korea relations, excessive optimism can be harmful, especially when it comes to historical issues. Some have said, "Prime Minister Ishiba also believes that the South Korean court's decision to pay compensation to forced laborers is a violation of international law (the Claims Settlement Agreement)."
"I think that the Japanese government's stance will not change, as it has in the past," he said. Even though close cooperation in the economic and security sectors is important, it is difficult to expect any sudden changes in the historical issue.
During his final visit to South Korea, former Prime Minister Kishida stated, "No matter who the next prime minister is, the importance of Japan-South Korea relations will not change." In the final election for the LDP president, Prime Minister Ishiba said, "I would like to express my thanks to the diplomatic achievements that former Prime Minister Kishida has made over the past three years.
As the two prime ministers said, Japan will take a more positive approach and open minded approach to usher in a new era of friendship and cooperation ahead of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea next year.
We hope that this will happen.