Chronologies

Japan - Korea

Chronology from Apr 2010 to Jul 2010


: The G8 meeting agrees to endorse the results of the international investigation led by South Korea on the sinking of the Cheonan.

: President Lee and Prime Minister Kan meet for the first time on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Toronto.

: North Korea holds a news conference and warns of military response if the UN Security Council condemns its country over the sinking of the Cheonan.

: Prime Minster Kan says he will not visit Yasukuni Shrine as prime minister.

: A trader and his wife are arrested in Japan on suspicion of exporting cosmetics to North Korea against Japan’s ban of exporting luxury items to the North.

: South Korean financial authorities announce measures to curb capital volatility.

: Kan takes office as Japan’s prime minister.

: According to Arirang News, Korean Studies is gaining popularity in Japanese universities partly because of the Korean Wave.

: Democratic Party of Japan selects Kan Naoto as its new leader.

: South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun expresses hopes for a mature, future-oriented relationship with Japan’s next leader upon Hatoyama’s resignation.

: North Korea expresses disappointment at Prime Minister Hatoyama’s resignation for his yielding to US pressure over the Futenma relocation issue.

: Hatoyama Yukio resigns as prime minister of Japan.

: Business leaders of South Korea, Japan, and China issue a joint statement at their second Business Summit on Jeju Island, urging their governments to pursue a three-way FTA.

: According to South Korean government data, the Dokdo/Takeshima islets are estimated to be worth of 1.09 billion won ($920,000), which marks a 6.3 percent increase from last year due to the discovery of natural resources and the increase in public interest.

: The third tripartite summit of South Korea, Japan, and China is held on Jeju Island, South Korea.

: Japan’s Diet enacts a special measures bill into a law that enables inspections of cargo moving between Japan and North Korea.

: A UN panel queries Japan about children’s rights with reference to ethnic Korean school children that might be excluded from the high school waiver program.

: Prime Minister Hatoyama and Cabinet ministers discuss Japan’s possible responses to North Korea over the sinking of the Cheonan. Hatoyama calls President Lee Myung-bak to offer Japan’s support for Seoul’s punitive measures against North Korea.

: Japan, China, and South Korea trade ministers meet in Seoul to discuss regional economic cooperation.

: Environment ministers of China, Japan, and South Korea adopt an action plan for the first time to battle global warming, yellow dust, and other issues in the coming five years.

: South Korean Dong-a Ilbo, quoting Japan’s May 15 Sankei Shimbun, reports that the Yokohama branch of the Japan Teachers’ Union boycotted the right-wing middle school textbook due to many “inaccuracies,” and created their own materials.

: Foreign Ministers Okada Katsuya and Yu Myung-hwan meet on the sidelines of the trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in Gyeongju.

: Foreign Ministers from China, South Korea, and Japan hold a meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea.

: About 200 South Korean and Japanese academics, writers, and attorneys announce in a joint statement that the 1910 annexation treaty is null and void.

: North Korea’s 12th Supreme People’s Assembly is held to approve government activities. Kim Jong-il does not attend the session.

: A joint survey by Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun and South Korea’s Hankook Ilbo shows that 57 percent of Japanese respondents think that Japan-South Korea relations are good while only 24 percent of South Korean respondents think bilateral ties are good.

: North Korean defector Hwang Jang-yup meets Japan’s minister in charge of the abduction issue.

: South Korea’s National Assembly approves a resolution requesting that Japan withdraw approval of elementary school textbooks that show the Dokdo/Takeshima islets as Japanese territory.

Date Range