Analyzing the historical, territorial and ideological disputes between Korea and Japan under the realist perspective

Abstract

In this paper, Korea-Japan relations will be examined under a realist perspective. Historical memory in terms of anti-Japanese sentiment is the cause of some fundamental differences between Europe and Asia when it comes to IR theories. No consensus has yet been reached about the bilateral modus operandi of cooperation and conflict in Korea-Japan relations. Under the capability aggression model of alliances, allies value each other for the military assistance they can provide for each other to increase their security. This paper stresses that in the case of Korea and Japan, however, high levels of external threats in terms of the North Korean nuclear threat and the economic and military rise of China have not resulted in correspondingly high levels of South Korean-Japanese cooperation. The historical and territorial controversies are still a huge stumbling-bloc for intensive political and security relations based on mutual trust. Nevertheless, increasing bilateral exchange on the personal-level in terms of tourists, students, and bi-national marriages brightens the prospects of future Korea-Japan relations. This work emphasizes the responsibility of both nations’ political leaders to support these trends on the personal-level by restraining their ideological disputes, and by focusing on pragmatic policies to realize their mutual needs.