2023 Japan's Political Outlook and Korea-Japan Relations

Jin, ChangSoo

(jincs@sejong.org)

Director of Center for Japanese Studies

The Sejong Institute

     In 2023, Prime Minister Kishida will have a difficult time. Since the beginning of 2023, the budget bill for the revision of three security-related documents, including national security strategies, is likely to bother Prime Minister Kishida. The process of increasing annual defense costs by 1 trillion yen proposed by Prime Minister Kishida does not seem settled.

     It also seems hard to adjust to a tax increase as there is also strong opposition within the ruling party. It is likely for the opposition party to attack the ruling party regarding the relationship between Unification Church and the ruling party. Hence, there are no regime-boosting measures for the public to concern about. In the end, it is likely that Prime Minister to lose control of the political situation unless his approval rating increases.

     In this regard, the Korea-Japan relationship in 2023 will be a time to have a boring battle over the issue of forced mobilization. In addition, conflicts between Korea and Japan are scattered in various fields such as the security reform issue, the discharge of Fukushima-contaminated water, and the registration of Sado Mine as a World Heritage site.

     Unless Korea-Japan relation is improved while solving the forced labor problem in 2023, it is likely that the future of Korea-Japan relation will inevitably be dark. Korea and Japan must have a crisis awareness about the current issue to be the last chance to solve a conflict. In the future, Korea and Japan need strategic cooperation to improve Korea-Japan relations above all else.