Photo/Illutration Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, right, meets with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, on the sidelines of a Group of Seven major industrialized nations' foreign ministers meeting in London on May 5. (Provided by the Foreign Ministry)

The tougher the challenges facing a country, the more important its leader’s decisions and actions.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in should take the responsibility for breaking the diplomatic stalemate in the badly strained bilateral relationship with its neighboring country Japan.

Moon’s five-year term entered its final year on May 10. The South Korean Constitution does not allow the president to serve a second term.

Four years ago, Moon was elected president in an unusual political situation after his predecessor, Park Geun-hye, was impeached and removed from office.

Moon pledged to resolve ideological conflict in the Korean Peninsula, which is divided into North and South Korea, and redress social disparities that have resulted from the country’s rapid economic growth. But his presidency has caused both problems to worsen.

As a result of his poor presidential performance, public support for Moon has waned, leading political pundits to say that he is fast becoming a lame duck.

Even so, Moon still has an important decision to make. He needs to decide how to improve his country’s soured ties with Japan.

Many South Koreans still harbor ill feelings toward Japan over issues related to Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, which have been festering sores in the bilateral relationship.

On the other hand, the two countries have a history of maintaining mutually beneficial and prosperous economic relations for more than a half century. The two nations are also linked by an extensive web of cultural and societal ties that bind them together through countless human interactions that transcend political conflict.

The implications of the challenge of mending bilateral ties go far beyond the two nations. Moon is scheduled to visit the United States and hold talks with President Joe Biden next week.

How Washington and Seoul work together in managing their policies vis-a-vis China and North Korea will have a direct bearing on stability in the region.

Moon’s policy decisions and actions should be based on a broad perspective that encompasses all these diplomatic factors.

The Japanese government, for its part, needs to take a more humble attitude toward South Korea.

The administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took some positive actions toward the country including working out an agreement on the issue of so-called "comfort women" but did not continue taking care to keep the bilateral relations on friendly terms, allowing history issues to spill over into the economic arena.

The Japanese government has acknowledged that Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula was at least “unjust.” Tokyo needs to realize that it cannot hope to achieve real reconciliation with the country if it refuses to confront the dark chapter of the history of the two nations.

Last week, the foreign ministers of the two countries met for the first time in a year and three months. At the meeting, which was held in response to strong urging from Washington, the top diplomats of the two nations agreed to continue communications.

This year’s summit of the Group of Seven major industrial nations is scheduled to take place in Britain next month. Moon has been invited to attend the event. The leaders of Japan and South Korea should take this opportunity to hold frank, face-to-face talks.

Foreign policy officials of both sides should step up efforts to arrange a meeting.

If the two governments agree on a bilateral summit, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga should reflect on the decades leading to the liberalization of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule due to Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945.

Moon, for his part, should look back on the history of mutually beneficial bilateral ties since the two countries established a formal diplomatic relationship in 1965.

The two leaders must remember their shared responsibility to hand down normal bilateral relations to future generations.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 12

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