At the Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting, "agreeing to improve relations to strengthen defense against North Korea," Japan cooperated with Japan's constitutional amendment by increasing its military expenditure, and an agreement was not reached on compensation for conscripted workers, which was the issue.
The Voice of America (VOA) said, “Foreign Minister Park Jin and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi held a meeting in Tokyo on the 18th and agreed to improve relations to improve relations deteriorated due to Japanese colonial rule in 1910-1945 and to strengthen defense against North Korea.” The meeting between the minister and Minister Hayashi came as the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who strongly advocated this agenda, was assassinated on July 8, and the discussion on Japan's constitutional amendment accelerated, the report said on the 20th.
Christopher Johnston, who served as director of East Asia at President Biden's NSC, said on the same day, "Japan's defense modernization and close trilateral relations are not mutually exclusive. There is nothing to worry about investing in defense. Both help strengthen deterrence against North Korea. We are stronger in our dealings with China," he told VOA.
The VOA said, "Prime Minister Kishida gained sufficient political support for constitutional amendment as Japan's conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito won a majority in the July 10 election of the House of Representatives." He announced that he would promote constitutional amendment based on the legacy of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.”
The VOA continued, “As South Korea and Japan agreed to improve relations between Korea and Japan, experts say the possibility of Japan’s constitutional amendment to allow for military expansion is related to the Biden administration’s efforts to build a strong Washington-Seoul-Tokyo trilateral front against threats from China and North Korea,” the VOA said. They say they have to match.”
At the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Bali, Indonesia, on the same day that Prime Minister Abe was assassinated earlier, Foreign Minister Park agreed to "strengthen cooperation on China's aggression and North Korean nuclear issues" during a three-way meeting with Foreign Minister Hayashi and US Secretary of State Blincoln. .
VOA reported that South Korea's defense budget is $48.3 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow by more than 6% between 2023 and 2027.
Minister Park told reporters right after the meeting with Japan that, "I felt that the Japanese government was willing to respond in a sincere way" to the issue of 'cash' for compensation for victims of forced labor, which is an issue, and it seems that an agreement could not be reached.
Regarding the outcome of the summit, Minister Park said, “I explained to the Japanese side that a public-private consultative body was formed in Korea (related to compensation for victims of forced labor) to collect the opinions of victims and experts, and the Japanese side appreciated our efforts.” .
At a press conference at the summit, Foreign Minister Hayashi said, “We have decided to accelerate our consultations with Minister Park for a quick resolution,” regarding compensation for forced labor victims. I want to communicate,” he said, repeating the previous position, revealing that the agreement failed.
In an editorial on the 20th, Japanese right-wing newspaper Sankei said, “There was no specific solution to the problem on the Korean side. We should not choose 'anti-Japanese'," he commented on the foreign affairs meeting.