{"id":8161,"date":"2023-11-17T10:55:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T09:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northkoreainfo.com\/?p=8161"},"modified":"2023-11-17T10:55:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T09:55:09","slug":"why-north-korea-hates-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northkoreainfo.com\/why-north-korea-hates-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Why North Korea Hates Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"
North Korea and Japan: A Modern-Day Feud<\/strong><\/p>\n North Korea and Japan have long held a bitter and hostile relationship. In its simplest terms Japan represents power, while North Korea views itself as a victim. Starting with Japanese colonisation of the Korean peninsula in 1910, the two countries would remain enemies until Japan’s unconditional surrender in 1945. <\/p>\n Between 1910-1945 Japan forcibly annexed the Korean peninsula and attempted to ‘Japanise’ it, erasing Korean culture, language, and seeking to replace the entire Korean gene pool with Japanese citizens. Forced labour, heavy taxation and violence were commonplace. At the same time, Japan also had multiple military bases throughout the Korean peninsula in an attempt to suppress any local rebellions. <\/p>\n After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the Korean peninsula suddenly happened to find itself divided, with the north’s border overseen by the Soviet Union and the south’s by the United States. This division would evolve into the Communist North and the US-allied South Korea, a separation that has lasted seven decades. Fast-forward to present day and this division still exists between North Korea and South Korea, with no official peace treaty signed. <\/p>\n The primary reason why North Korea hates Japan is because of their inability to come to terms with their wartime past. North Korea continues to demand that Japan acknowledge the forced servicemen, comfort women and other atrocities committed during the 1910 – 1945 colonial period and pay the requisite reparations. For its part, Japan continues to deny any historical misdeeds and refuses to acknowledge these war crimes. <\/p>\n The rest of the world has done little to intervene in this feud. Both countries continue to use propaganda in an attempt to paint their respective perspectives on the historical record. Meanwhile, Japan continues to express its contempt for North Korea over their nuclear arms proliferation and non-compliance with UN resolutions. <\/p>\n It is true that the current North-South division of the Korean peninsula has its origins in Japanese colonisation, but between Seoul and Pyongyang there have been numerous historical disputes. Many of these stem from cultural, economic and ideological differences, with Pyongyang feeling that the former pro-Japanese collaborators in South Korea hold an undue amount of power. <\/p>\n Moreover, North Korea has also been deeply unhappy with Seoul’s rapid economic reforms and diplomatic rebalancing too, especially as it took place right in front of them. This further exacerbated pressures existing since the Japanese surrender, leading to a situation of mistrust and suspicion that bridges both sides. <\/p>\n It should also be noted that North Korean leaders have inflamed the situation on multiple occasions, with leader Kim Jong-il often using Japan as a convenient enemy in order to rally support for himself domestically. This has resulted in North Korea blaming the south for ‘following the Japanese’, which in the eyes of the Korean people, goes against their historical narrative of having fought off an occupation. <\/p>\n Although both countries are aware of the elephant in the room, neither side has made any progress towards bringing about reconciliation and normalisation of bilateral ties. Hence, North Korea continues to view Japan as an aggressor and with this attitude, it’s hard to see any change to the status quo in the near future. <\/p>\n Beneath the historical disputes and animosity lies the issue of who has rightful control to certain pieces of land. Discussions have been ongoing since before World War II and while there has been a great deal ofprogress in recent years, key issues remain unresolved. <\/p>\n One such example is the Takeshima sea island, administered by Japan since 1905, but long contested by the Korean government. Tokyo has maintained the island for many years, and the south, rightly or wrongly, consistently supports their neighbour. The north and south do not agree on this, and refuse to renounce their connection to the island. <\/p>\n In fact, high-level talks on the land and sea borders between Japan and the two Koreas have only recently been stalled again, and while there haven’t been any drastic changes in the demarcation line, the North views this as Japan attempting to claim territory that is rightfully theirs. To Pyongyang, the sea border is a constant reminder of Japan’s unwillingness to come to terms with its past and make reparations for the colonial occupation. <\/p>\n The historical issues between Japan and North Korea have exacerbated the tendency for both sides to act in an increasingly jingoistic manner. On the one hand, Japan has condemned North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and spoken out against their human rights abuses. On the other hand, North Korea’s leaders have not hesitated to launch personal attacks against the Japanese people. <\/p>\n Such sustained attacks and reprisals only serve to further add fuel to the fire and force the sides to consolidate their respective positions. North Korea remains highly antagonistic, criticising Japan’s ‘right-wing’ policies on a regular basis, while Japan continues to strengthen its relationship with the US and South Korea, further isolating Pyongyang in international affairs. <\/p>\n Yet North Korea’s jingoism towards Japan has achieved little to improve its own standing in the international community. On the contrary, the North has become increasingly isolated in recent years, ruling out the possibility of improved ties with Japan. Pyongyang’s only hope then is that one day, Japan will be willing to step up and admit its historic mistakes, so that the two countries can finally move on and create more positive relations.<\/p>\nFestering Historical Disputes<\/h2>\n
Issues of Land Disputes<\/h2>\n
Unending Jingoism from North Korea<\/h2>\n
Lamenting the Lost Years<\/h2>\n