정부가 26일 야스쿠니 신사를 참배한 아베 신조 일본 총리에 대해 강력 반발했다.
정부는 그동안 대화 움직임을 보인 아베 총리가 A급 전범이 합사된 야스쿠니 참배를 강행하자 분노와 함께 일본 정부가 진정으로 우호적인 한일관계를 구축할 의지가 있는지에 대해 심각한 의문을 제기했다.
26일 연합뉴스에 따르면 정부는 이날 오후 정부 대변인인 문화체육관광부장관 명의 성명 발표와 주한일본대사 대리 소환을 통해 일본 정부를 강도높게 비판했다.
정부 대변인 성명에는 ‘개탄•분노’라는 표현과 함께 야스쿠니에 합사된 도조 히데키, 고이소 구니아키 등 일본 전쟁범죄자들이 구체적으로 거론됐다.
성명 발표 직후에는 김규현 외교부 1차관이 일본대사 대리인 쿠라이 타카시(倉井高志) 일본대사관 총괄공사를 불러 우리 입장을 전달하고 본국에 보고할 것을 요구했다.
김 차관은 “아베 총리가 대화하겠다고 한 것이 과연 진정한 것인지 심각한 의문을 제기하며 이번 참배로 비롯된 어떤 결과도 모든 책임은 일본에 있다는 것을 분명히 한다”고 밝혔다.
정부는 최근 아베 총리의 야스쿠니 참배 가능성이 흘러 나오는 점을 주시하면서외교경로로 구체적 사실을 파악하던 중 이날 오전 참배 1시간 전에야 도쿄 외교채널을 통해 참배 계획을 통보받은 것으로 전해졌다.
이를 두고 외교부 당국자는 “(일본이) 이미 다 정해놓고 알리는 것인데 무슨 의미가 있느냐”고 비판했다.
정부는 이 자리에서 절대로 아베 총리가 야스쿠니 신사를 참배해서는 안된다고 분명히 하며 한일관계에 몰고 올 악영향을 경고했다.
정부 내에서는 양국이 최근 관계 개선을 모색하는 가운데 아베 총리가 야스쿠니신사를 참배한 데 대해 당혹감과 함께 불쾌감을 감추지 못하는 분위기다.
정부 당국자는 “일본은 그동안 한일관계를 개선하자든가 양국 정상끼리 대화해 보자던 이야기들을 자기네 스스로 퇴색시킨 것”이라며 “일본 정부의 진정성에 대해 다시 한번 생각해볼 수밖에 없다”고 밝혔다.
특히 일본이 최근 미국 등 국제사회를 상대로 한일관계 개선 의지를 피력한 것이 결국은 쇼가 아니었느냐는 비판론도 팽배했다.
이 당국자는 “미국 내에서도 일본에 대한 시각이 변할 수밖에 없을 것”이라면서“일본이 한일간 대화를 위해 노력하는 것 처럼 쇼를 했지 않느냐. 이번 조치는 일본으로서도 자충수이며 한미일 3각 협력 토대를 스스로 깎아먹은 셈”이라고 비판했다.
정부는 당분간 한일 고위급 당국자간 협의와 정상회담 가능성도 일축하고 나섰다.
조태영 외교부 대변인은 이날 정례브리핑에서 정상회담 전망에 대해 “그런 안건을 논의할 시점인가 하는 생각이 든다”면서 “이렇게 말할 수 밖에 없는 상황을 만든것이 어느 쪽인지 생각해보라”고 밝혔다.
<관련 영문 기사>
Japan’s Abe visits war shrine, neighbors condemn strongly
By Shin Hyon-hee
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became the country’s first head of state to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in almost eight years on Thursday, prompting strong condemnation from Korea and China and further freezing relations with its neighbors.
The U.S. expressed “disappointment,” calling on the neighbors to find “constructive ways” to deal with historical issues, improve relations and work together for regional peace and stability.
Seoul called the visit “deplorable and outrageous.” Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun summoned Takashi Kurai, a minister and deputy chief of the Japanese Embassy here, in place of Ambassador Koro Bessho who was on vacation.
“Prime Minister Abe’s worship at the Yasukuni Shrine lays bare his erroneous historical perception, and is an anachronistic act that damages not only Korea-Japan relations but also the foundations of stability and cooperation in Northeast Asia,” Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yoo Jin-ryong said as top spokesperson for the Korean government.
“Abe is expressing his intention to contribute to the international community under the name of the so-called ‘active pacifism,’ but we cannot but question if he truly thinks he can promote peace with such a wrong historical view.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also issued a statement, saying: “The essence of Japanese leaders’ visits to the Yasukuni Shrine is to beautify Japan’s history of militaristic aggression and colonial rule.”
Luo Zhaohui, director-general of Asian affairs at the ministry, also lambasted the move as “absolutely unacceptable,” warning that Tokyo “must bear consequences.”
The U.S. Embassy in Japan expressed concerns that the visit would worsen regional tensions.
“Japan is a valued ally and friend. Nevertheless, the United States is disappointed that Japan’s leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan’s neighbors,” the U.S. Embassy in Japan in a statement.
The inflammatory trip marked the first anniversary of Abe’s second premiership, which has been credited with kick-starting long-awaited economic stimulus at home yet fueled concerns of neighbors over its drastic drift to the right.
It was the first prime ministerial visit since that of Junichiro Koizumi on Aug. 15, 2006.
The temple venerates nearly 2.5 million Japanese war dead including 14 “Class A” World War II criminals and colonial leaders. It also has long been a source of diplomatic contention due to frequent worship by right-wing nationalist politicians who often wield their revisionist views as a political weapon.
For Seoul and Beijing, his pilgrimage is seen as proof that Tokyo does not repent for its imperialist past and wartime and colonial transgressions including massacres, sex slavery and forced labor. It appears a sure damper on Japan’s ties with the two neighbors, which have also been dogged by sovereignty feuds over a set of small islets in the East Sea and the East China Sea, respectively.
Abe defended his decision by saying he went not to pay tribute to war criminals but to “report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again.”
“For 68 years after the war, Japan created a free and democratic country, and consistently walked the path of peace. There is no doubt whatsoever that we will continue to pursue this path,” he said in a statement after the trip.
“It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people. It is my wish to respect each other’s character, protect freedom and democracy, and build friendship with China and Korea with respect.”
During his first stint in 2006-07, Abe stayed away from the shrine in consideration of the country’s relationship with its neighbors. That position was welcomed abroad but he later called it a “mistake.”
The event was apparently aimed at perking up the sliding popularity of Abe, who has been taking flak from ultraconservatives, one of the core groups backing his Liberal Democratic Party, for refraining from visiting the shrine and not taking a vigorous enough approach to an array of other nationalist steps.
His approval ratings dropped below 50 percent early this month for the first time since he took power, pummeled by the enactment of a state-secrets law calling for tougher penalties for leaks, which invited a stringent public backlash.
In a poll by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, the figures tumbled by 4 percent to 49 percent from a month earlier, though another survey by Kyodo News showed that it picked up by 6.6 percent to reach 54.2 percent early this week from two weeks before.
Though President Park Geun-hye set establishing a better mood with Japan as one of her key diplomatic tasks, the possibility of a summit with Abe is expected to become even less likely.
For the U.S., Abe’s visit to Yasukuni is an uncomfortable development.
While maintaining a stern stance toward humanitarian issues such as sexual slavery, Washington has been calling for more forward-looking relations between its two prime allies, key to trilateral cooperation to rein in North Korea and other regional threats.
In May, Abe sparked criticism after likening Yasukuni to the Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington in a media interview, which is home to some 400,000 fallen U.S. troops from the Civil War to battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In an apparent swipe at the hawkish premier, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in October laid a wreath at Chidori ga Fuchi, a Tokyo cemetery which Washington officials called Japan’s “closest equivalent” to Arlington.
The U.S. also gave a “chilly response” when Abe’s special advisor Seiichi Eto floated his trip to Yasukuni during meetings with Washington officials last month, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported Tuesday.
(
heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
