Chronologies
Japan - Korea
Chronology from Sep 2016 to Dec 2016
: Japan’s Minister of Defense Inada Tomomi visits Yasukuni Shrine, prompting South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon Maruyama Kohei, a minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, and the Ministry of Defense to summon Takahashi Hideaki the Japanese military attaché to Korea.
: Japan’s Minister for Reconstruction Imamura Masahiro visits the Yasukuni Shrine, sparking protests from South Korea.
: The Hankyoreh reports that prosecutors have requested a three-year jail sentence for Park Yu-ha – a Sejong University professor who is on trial on accounts of defamation of “comfort women.” Her sentence hearing is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2017.
: The Japan Times reports that the Japanese government will broadcast its radio program aimed at Japanese abductees in North Korea on more frequencies in the coming year.
: UN General Assembly adopts a resolution recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) on the Situation of Human Rights in North Korea.
: Japan and South Korea share their first piece of classified information on North Korea’s nuclear program and ballistic missiles since inking GSOMIA in November.
: Japan, South Korea, and US hold Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT) in Seoul.
: In a telephone call, South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho assures Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Aso Taro of the continued stability in South Korea despite the ongoing political turmoil.
: Moon Jae-in, former leader of the Minjoo Party (and potential presidential candidate) calls for a complete re-evaluation of the “comfort women” deal and GSOMIA.
: NHK confirms that US government believes Pyongyang conducted a ground test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in early December.
: Japan’s Upper House passes the “Bill Promoting Implementation of Specified Integrated Resort” in an extraordinary session of the Diet.
: Nuclear envoys from Japan, South Korea, and the US meet in Seoul to discuss collaboration on new sanctions against North Korea.
: Japan’s Minister for Disaster Management Matsumoto Jun and South Korean counterpart Park In-yong sign an agreement on cooperation on disaster control and safety.
: The Japan Times reports that bilateral negotiations on the currency swap arrangement between Japan and South Korea will most likely stall, quoting Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho.
: Motion to impeach President Park Geun-hye passes in the South Korean National Assembly. This makes Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn the acting president and gives a greater role for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoo Il-ho, particularly in the context of South Korea’s interaction with Japan.
: At the request of the Japanese ambassador to the UN, UN Security Council convenes a meeting to discuss the human rights situation in North Korea.
: Japanese government announces it will expand sanctions against North Korea.
: “Bill Promoting Implementation of Specified Integrated Resort” that would legalize casino gambling in integrated resorts in Japan passes the Lower House Committee.
: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon meets Kato Katsunobu, Japanese minister for the abduction issue, in New York, to discuss issues regarding North Korea.
: UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2321, which expresses concerns against North Korea’s nuclear testing and ballistic missiles activities and contains measures for further sanctions against the regime.
: The Nikkei reports that the Seoul Central District Court has ruled that Japanese company, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp, must compensate five Korean women 100 million won ($85,000) each for forced labor during World War II.
: South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Nagamine Yasumasa sign the GSOMIA.
: The Hankyoreh reports that a scheduled South Korean military exercise on Nov. 24 to protect the disputed territory of Dokdo/Takeshima is abruptly postponed in consideration of the GSOMIA with Japan, prompting criticism from the South Korean public.
: Co-drafted resolution by Japan and the European Union condemning North Korea’s human rights violations is approved by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee.
: Second round of bilateral discussions on GSOMIA take place in Seoul.
: Japanese and South Korean parliamentarians meet in Seoul for the 39th annual General Assembly of the Parliamentarians’ Union.
: First round of bilateral discussions on the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) take place in Tokyo.
: Governors of Japan’s Kochi Prefecture and South Korea’s South Jeolla Province sign a pact establishing a sister relationship between the two regions.
: Kato Tatsuya, former Seoul bureau chief of Japan’s Sankei Shimbun, publishes an editorial about the ongoing political turmoil surrounding South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye.
: Navies of Japan, South Korea, and the US participate in a joint naval exercise off the southern coast of South Korea’s Jeju Island.
: Three top figures of the Lotte Group are indicted by the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office on corruption charges.
: Korea-Japan Exchange Festival (Hanil Chukjae Hanmadang) is held in Seoul.
: Japan-Korea Exchange Festival (Nikkan Koryu Matsuri) is held in Tokyo.
: Japanese and South Korean parliamentarians meet in Tokyo for the executive committee meeting ahead of the scheduled General Assembly of Parliamentarians’ Union in November.
: Prime Minister Abe releases a statement in response to the fifth nuclear test by North Korea.
: Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo meets South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye in Vientiane on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related meetings.