Japan Relations Korea

Historic Relations: For over 15 centuries, the relationship between Japan and Korea was one of both cultural and economic exchanges, as well as political and military confrontations. During the ancient era, exchanges of cultures and ideas between Japan and mainland Asia were common through migration, diplomatic contact and trade between the two. Tensions over historic military confrontations still affect modern relations. The Mimizuka monument near Kyoto enshrining the mutilated body parts of at least 38,000 Koreans killed during the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598 illustrates this effect. WWII Relations: Since 1945, relations involve three states: North Korea, South Korea and Japan. Japan took control of Korea with the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910. When Japan was defeated in World War II, Soviet forces took control of the North, and American forces took control of the South, with the 38th parallel as the agreed-upon dividing. South Korea was independent as of August 15, 1945, and North Korea as of September 9, 1945. In June 1950, North Korea invaded and almost conquered South Korea, but was driven back by the United Nations command, leading South Korean, American, European and international forces. North Korea was nearly captured, with the United Nations intending to roll back Communism there. However, China entered the war, pushed the UN forces out of North Korea, and a military stalemate resulted along the lines similar to the 38th parallel. An armistice was agreed on in 1953, which is still in effect, and the cease-fire line of that year remains the boundary between North and South. Post-War Relations: Diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea were established in 1965. In the early 2000s, the Japanese–South Korean relationship soured when the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine, controversial for its inclusion of war criminals, every year during his term. Furthermore, conflicts continue to exist over claims of the Liancourt Rocks (known in Korea as "Dokdo") – a group of small islets near the Korean island of Ulleungdo and the Japanese Oki Islands. Bilaterally and through the Six-Party Talks, North Korea and Japan continue to discuss the case of Japanese citizens abducted by the North Korean government during the 1970s and 1980s, although there are no existent diplomatic relations between the two; Japan does not recognize North Korea as a sovereign state. In recent decades, disputes over history and history textbooks have soured relations between Japan and the two Koreas. The debate has exacerbated nationalist pride and animosity, as teachers and professors become soldiers in an intellectual war over events more than a half-century old or even two millennia older. Efforts to reach compromise agreements have broken down. Meanwhile, a much less controversial, less politicized and more study-oriented historiography has flourished in Western nations. In 2013, polls reported that 94% of Koreans believe Japan "Feels no regret for its past wrongdoings," while 63% of Japanese state that Korean demands for Japanese apologies are "Incomprehensible".