The Japan-South Korea Rift: “Inside” and “Outside” Pressures on Relations

Although Japan–South Korea relations have been volatile throughout the postwar era, ties deteriorated to an unprecedented degree after 2011, with mutual mistrust hitting unseen heights. Focusing on this time period, the chapter analyzes the causes of the downturn. Previous studies show that bilateral tensions stem from clashes in the two countries’ national identity conceptions and historical disagreements more generally. While this chapter acknowledges the continuing relevance of these underlying sources of friction, it argues that ties have come under additional pressure from two spheres. First, pressure has built from the “inside”—the domestic-societal contexts—pushing the respective political leaders, who are mindful of public support and electoral effects, toward more nationalist positions vis-à-vis the other country. Consequently, the political room for mutual accommodation and compromise has shrunk. Second, pressure has built from the “outside”—from changes in the international arena. Tokyo and Seoul hold differing views on how to prioritize and respond to key international challenges, sowing mutual strategic mistrust. At the same time, Japan’s relative importance to Korea has fallen amid shifting economic ties in the region. With rising pressure from both “inside” and “outside,” the traditional bonds underpinning mutual cooperation have eroded, sending relations to their lowest point in the history of bilateral normalized relations since 1965.