Japan’s Defense Ministry officially announced on October 5th that they would not participate in the international fleet review hosted by South Korea from October 10th to 14th. Katsutoshi Kawano, a Japanese military Chief of Staff, mentioned that the ensign represents a sailor’s pride and Japan will absolutely not go at all if they have to remove the flag. Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Korean Navy, the International Fleet Review included Navy delegates from 14 countries and was held from October 10 to 14 at a civilian-military complex port in waters off of Jeju island.
Ever since the Meiji period from 1868 to 1912, the flag has served as the symbol of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force until today and is mandatory under their domestic law to display it on naval ships. However, many South Koreans have exclaimed that it also reflects Japan’s colonization history in South Korea. This induced dialogue about the six million civilians being conscripted into forced labor in not only the Korean peninsula but also in Sakhalin Island of Russia and other Asian countries.
The imperialistic symbol also raised the issue of young women being forced into sexual slavery in the past and how Japan has not fully apologized for this crime. After a bilateral agreement in 2015 which promised a fund to establish a healing foundation, civic groups and survivors have expressed that Japan failed to take full legal responsibility. One of the survivors, Kim Bok-dong (91), has urged that this issue is not only for compensation. She exclaimed, “Even if you offer us 100 billion won [89 million USD], we won’t take it.”
Although the Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa had urged Japan to consider how South Korean citizens remember the brutal colonization, there isn’t any restriction to the Rising Sun flag due to international law. It is mentioned in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea that the Maritime Self-Defense Force ensign is one of the ‘external marks’ that indicates nationalities of vessels belonging to the military of their respective countries. This means that South Korea cannot impose any legal sanctions on Japanese warships flying the Rising Sun flag.
South Korea has expressed its concern over Japan’s decision not to participate in the International Fleet Review. However, an official from the South Korean Navy has stated that although both of the countries can not accept each other’s position on this matter, they will continue military exchanges efforts to strengthen dialogue between the two nations.
Hyunseon Kim | Reporter
hkim204@masonlive.gmu.edu
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