Japan's Defense Minister to Skip Annual Security Dialogue in Seoul After War Shrine Visit: Sources
Key Takeaways
- •Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is expected to skip the Seoul Defense Dialogue, held Monday through Wednesday, with a vice defense minister attending in his place.
- •Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15 with other Japanese lawmakers, drawing criticism from Seoul and likely influencing his absence.
- •Yasukuni Shrine honors Japanese war dead including 14 Class A war criminals, and visits there have long strained Japan's ties with South Korea and China.
- •Koizumi and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back have met three times this year, and his attendance would have marked their fourth meeting in just over two months.
- •The two countries' defense coordination reflects expanding trilateral security cooperation with the United States in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is expected to skip an annual security forum in Seoul early next week, sources familiar with the matter said Friday, a move seen as connected to his recent visit to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo that drew criticism from Seoul.
Koizumi will not attend the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD), scheduled for Monday through Wednesday, multiple sources told Yonhap News Agency. A vice defense minister from Tokyo will attend in his place, according to Seoul's defense ministry.
The SDD is a multilateral security forum launched by South Korea's defense ministry in 2012, bringing together senior defense officials and experts from Asia-Pacific and European countries to discuss regional security cooperation.
Koizumi had been widely expected to appear at next week's forum, given the brisk high-level defense diplomacy between the two neighbors amid a warming of bilateral relations. His predecessor, Gen Kanatani, attended last year's SDD.
While the exact reason for his absence remains unclear, Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine last month may have influenced the decision. Koizumi was among a group of Japanese lawmakers who visited the shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of the end of World War II.
The Yasukuni Shrine honors Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted by international tribunals for their roles in World War II. Visits to the site by Japanese leaders have long been denounced by neighboring countries, which view such actions as glorifying Japan's militaristic past. The shrine issue has repeatedly strained Japan's ties with South Korea and China over the decades, and Aug. 15 visits by Japanese politicians are a recurring point of friction.
Had Koizumi attended next week's forum, he and Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back would have held their fourth bilateral talks in just over two months. The two defense ministers have already met three times this year, including at a Singapore security forum in May and during Koizumi's reciprocal visit to Seoul in late June, which followed Ahn's trip to Japan in January. Their close coordination reflects broader momentum in trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, Japan and the United States, which has expanded in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
