Japan’s Abe strives to stay relevant in denuclearization talks

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet US President Donald Trump this month, and the Japanese foreign minister will reportedly visit South Korea next week, as Japan struggles to remain relevant in the upcoming inter-Korean and North Korea-US talks. 

Abe will meet Trump from April 17-18 to discuss North Korea and trade ties at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida ahead of an inter-Korean summit scheduled for April 27 and planned talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the end of May.

The White House confirmed the plan, saying Trump and Abe “will discuss the international campaign to maintain maximum pressure on North Korea.” 

Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Kono may also visit South Korea. He will meet President Moon Jae-in and Seoul‘s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha for two days between April 9 and 13 in an attempt to influence the upcoming inter-Korean summit, Kyodo News reported, quoting Japanese officials. 

During his meeting with Moon, Kono is expected to request that Moon bring up the issue of North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals during the inter-Korean summit, the officials were quoted as saying. North Korea is accused of abducting 17 Japanese nationals during the 1970s and the 1980s.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the two countries are in talks on Kono’s possible visit to Seoul, but nothing had been confirmed.

Abe’s diplomatic outreach comes amid growing fears in Japan that the diplomatic drive led by South Korea, North Korea and the US could fail to suit its security concerns and interests, and leave it out of critical decisions in the process of denuclearization of North Korea.

Japan has been at the forefront of the US-led maximum pressure campaign, which aims to push the North to give up its nuclear and missile programs through economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation. It has remained skeptical about the North’s recent peace offensive, denouncing the communist state as buying time to perfect its nuclear programs. 

But a fast-paced thaw and momentum of dialogue on the Korean Peninsula, following the North’s participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February, appears to have left Japan perplexed. Abe reportedly was not informed in advance of Trump’s decision to sit down for talks with Kim.

“I am also afraid that (Trump) may achieve a nuclear test ban, but end up accepting North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons,” Abe told the upper house budget committee on March 28. He expressed worries that medium-range missiles and short-range missiles, which could pose a direct threat to Japan but not to the US, may not be addressed during the upcoming talks.

The issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea also remains highly critical for Abe who rose to political prominence on his calls for a tough line on North Korea and his pledge to bring home Japanese nationals detained in the communist state.

Japan has said North Korea abducted at least 17 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to train agents in the Japanese language and culture to spy on South Korea. North Korea acknowledged in 2002 that it had abducted 13 Japanese. It released only five of them, saying the other eight had died.

Abe is losing popularity at home over his alleged involvement in cutting the price of state-owned land sold to a nationalist school operator who claims ties to Abe and his wife Akie. His approval rating plunged by 6 percentage points to 42 percent, according to a survey conducted from March 31-April 1 and published Monday by Yomiuri Shimbun. His disapproval rating stands at 50 percent, according to the survey.

Further alienating Japan in the diplomatic game may be China. Chinese President Xi Jinping met North Korean leader Kim in Beijing last week to improve their strained ties, dismissing concerns that China is being sidelined in the denuclearization talks and losing influence over the reclusive regime. 

Abe said that he had learned about Kim’s meeting with Xi through news reports.

In what appears to be a sign of Japan’s frustration, Abe has proposed a face-to-face meeting with the North Korean leader to discuss North Korea’s abduction of Japanese citizens, Japanese media reported. The talks could possibly take place in June, according to the reports. 

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)