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Wednesday, July 17, 2019, 17:47
Japan urges ROK to agree to arbitration
By Reuters
Wednesday, July 17, 2019, 17:47 By Reuters

Protesters shout slogans during a rally demanding full compensation and an apology for wartime sex slaves from the Japanese government in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, July 17, 2019. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)

SEOUL — Japan is making a final call for the Republic of Korea (ROK) to agree to Japanese-requested arbitration over the Korean wartime labor dispute, while hinting at possible retaliation.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura on Wednesday urged Seoul to nullify court orders for Japanese companies to compensate former ROK wartime labors and settle by arbitration, AP reports. The deadline for a response is Thursday. 

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Nishimura urged Seoul to nullify court orders for Japanese companies to compensate former ROK wartime labors and settle by arbitration. The deadline for a response is Thursday 

Nishimura also said Japan will consider all options to protect Japanese companies, according to AP.

Colonial-era laborers from the ROK are seeking a court approval for the sales of local assets held by their wartime employer Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, which has ignored a court's compensation order.

Japan believes the issue of compensation for its wartime actions was settled under a 1965 treaty.

US diplomat vows to help resolve row

Also on Wednesday, a senior US diplomat said the United States will "do what it can do" to help defuse worsening political and economic dispute between the ROK and Japan, as the ROK warned that the row would have global repercussions.

David Stilwell, the top US diplomat for East Asia policy, told reporters in Seoul that he took the situation seriously but did not elaborate on what steps Washington might be willing to take and said fundamentally it was up to the ROK and Japan to resolve their differences.

READ MORE: Japan sees no talks soon on its export curbs to ROK

"We hope that resolution will happen soon," he said.

"The United States, as a close friend and ally to both, will do what it can do to support their efforts to resolve it."

David Stilwell, center left, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, speaks to reporters after a meeting with the Republic of Korea (ROK)'s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (not in frame) at the foreign ministry in Seoul, ROK, July 17, 2019. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / POOL PHOTO / AP)

Washington has been hesitant to publicly wade into the feud between its allies, but the dispute, which threatens global supplies of memory chips and smartphones, has overshadowed Stilwell's visit, who arrived Tuesday.

Last week, Stilwell had told Japan's NHK broadcaster the United States would not intervene in the dispute, and instead encouraged dialogue between Washington's two biggest allies in Asia to settle it.

Washington "will do what it can do" to help defuse the dispute, said David Stilwell, US assistant secretary of state for Asian and Pacific affairs

ALSO READ: More acrimony in Japan-ROK row as Tokyo lodges protest

Simmering tension, particularly over a case for compensation of ROK people forced to work for Japanese occupiers during World War II, took a sharp turn for the worse this month, when Japan restricted exports of high-tech materials to the ROK.

Japan has denied that the dispute over compensation for laborers is behind the export curbs, even though one of its ministers cited broken trust with the ROK over the labor dispute in announcing the restrictions.

Instead, Japan has cited "inadequate management" of sensitive items exported to the ROK, with Japanese media reporting some items ended up in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The ROK has denied that.

The Japanese government has distanced itself from Japanese media reports that the ROK violated international sanctions by exporting banned goods to the DPRK, saying it had said no such thing.

Nevertheless, ROK President Moon Jae-in called the reported accusation a "grave challenge".

READ MORE: ROK leader says Tokyo's trade curbs will hurt Japan more

The government is working on comprehensive plans to reduce the country's dependence on Japan's materials, components and equipment industries and will announce them soon.

Hong Nam-ki, ROK finance minister

ROK repeats call to end curbs

On Wednesday, ROK Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki repeated his call for Tokyo to end the curbs, while adding that the ROK wanted to make its supply chain more independent.

"The government is working on comprehensive plans to reduce the country's dependence on Japan's materials, components and equipment industries and will announce them soon," he said at the start of a regular meeting of ministers responsible for aspects of the economy.

The export curbs could hurt global technology companies, including the operations of ROK tech giant Samsung in the Texas state capital of Austin, a ROK government source told reporters.

"It will adversely affect companies ranging from Apple, Amazon, Dell, Sony and billions of consumers all over the world," the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive diplomatic issues.

Samsung Electronics said in a statement in response to the official's comments: "We cannot say there will be no impact on the Austin factory, but we will make utmost effort not to disrupt future production."

When asked whether the ROK government was considering retaliatory measures, the source said the ROK preferred to resolve the dispute diplomatically.

If Japan went so far as to drop the ROK from its "whitelist" of countries with minimum trade restrictions, it would cause a "tremendous amount of problems" and strain ties between Japan, the ROK, and the United States, the source added.


With AP inputs

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