Japan cautious on emperor`s Seoul visit

Japanese officials are cautious on President Lee Myung-bak`s recent proposal that Emperor Akihito visit Seoul next year.

Lee said on Sept. 15 that he hopes the emperor`s visit will help put an end to historical strains between the two neighbors. 2010 marks the centennial of Japan`s forceful annexation of Korea.

Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama may discuss the issue during their summit in Seoul on Friday, according to Korean officials.

Japanese officials expressed caution about the proposal.

The emperor "generally does not visit other countries to solve international concerns or political issues," Imperial Household Agency chief Shingo Haketa was quoted by Japanese media as saying on Sept. 25.

He said the agency will study arrangements for a possible visit by the couple "solely to promote international goodwill," according to Kyodo news agency.



Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada stressed that the emperor`s overseas visit should not be related to political issues.

"The emperor`s visit should be politically neutral under Japan`s Constitution," Okada was quoted as saying during a meeting with Korean correspondents in Japan on Sept. 18.

He also said during a news conference after his meeting with Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Sept. 29 that his government will consider the issue carefully.

The two ministers said the two governments have not specifically discussed the proposal yet.

Lee`s remarks made during an interview with Yonhap and Kyodo news agencies do not constitute a formal invitation.

"A visit by the emperor would provide an opportunity to put an end to the sense of distance between the two countries," he was quoted as saying by Kyodo.

"It is very important to see in what stance the emperor will visit," he added.

Lee also said he expects improved ties between the two countries under the new government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

"I believe the new Hatoyama government in Japan will provide an opportunity for the Korea-Japan relationship to advance to a higher level based on trust," he said.

When he visited Tokyo in April 2008, Lee said he will welcome the Japanese monarch`s visit to Seoul.

Former Korean leaders invited him several times since 1990s for improvement of ties. But Japan rejected the request saying time is not ripe.

His visit, unless it is made with Japan`s bold move to address the historical dispute, will backfire, some experts say.

"The government should be more careful in requesting the Japanese emperor`s visit. The government should consider that the emperor is unlikely to make an apology which would satisfy Koreans," said Jin Chang-su, a researcher at Sejong Institute.

"With Japanese perception of history unchanged, there is much for Japan to do in advance. If he falls short of expectations during a visit, it may backfire," said Lee Won-deok, an international relations professor at Kookmin University.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited China in 1992. He acknowledged that Japan`s wartime occupation had inflicted great suffering on the people of China but stopped short of the apology demanded by the Chinese.

In 2005, he made a surprise visit to a Korean war dead memorial during a pilgrimage to the island of Saipan. Akihito is son of the late Emperor Hirohito who ruled Japan during World War II.

In 2001, he acknowledged his family`s blood ties with an ancient Korean kingdom for the first time, saying he hoped it would help enhance friendship between the Asian neighbors.

"I, on my part, feel a certain kinship with Korea, given the fact that it is recorded in the Chronicles of Japan that the mother of Emperor Kammu was of the line of King Muryong of Paekche," he said at a news conference marking his 68th birthday.

Kammu reigned Japan from 781 to 806 AD, while Muryong ruled the Paekche kingdom in Korea from 501 to 523 AD.

(jjhwang@heraldm.com)







By Hwang Jang-jin