ニュース 2009/06/05 Hatoyama visits Republic of Korea, meets with President Lee On June 5, DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama visited the Republic of Korea (ROK), and met with President Lee Myung-bak. The two sides engaged in a wide-ranging and frank discussion, and confirmed the importance of constructing a new bilateral relationship between Japan and the ROK in the event that a DPJ government should be formed. Following the meeting, Hatoyama held a press conference at a Seoul hotel. He expressed his appreciation to President Lee, saying that discussions had “proceeded in a very genial manner” and revealed that the two of them had held a private meeting lasting for 35 minutes. Hatoyama commented that last year a change of government had brought about a new administration in the ROK, and emphasised that it was now the turn of Japan to have a change of government and a new administration. He said that “This meeting gave me the strong feeling that we would be able to form a new Japan-ROK relationship” between the new governments of both Japan and the ROK. Hatoyama went on to provide a brief summary of the meeting, saying that he had made three points. The first point was the need for a change of government in Japan. He emphasised the need to “restore trust in politics in order to resolve the dissatisfaction felt by the Japanese people.” Hatoyama added that “a change of government is necessary to create a new foreign policy stance that will emphasise Asia,” and stressed that the DPJ “has the courage to face historical issues squarely, and this will enable us to open the door wide to the future” and “there is no future without the past.” President Lee made a comment expressing his hopes for a new Japan-ROK relationship, and also indicated his understanding for the DPJ’s having the courage to confront the past head-on. Secondly, Hatoyama commented on the nuclear test and missile launches carried out by North Korea, saying it was precisely because such actions posed a direct threat to Japan and the ROK, that “it was vitally important for both countries to cooperate and, in concert with the United States, find some way to involve China.” He also emphasised that in order to achieve an effective UN Security Council resolution it was also essential to involve China fully. President Lee expressed what was basically a very similar position on these issues. In his third point, Hatoyama touched on the concept of fraternal diplomacy, saying that “the fraternal spirit encouraged France and Germany, which had repeatedly fought wars, to finally create the EU, a structure without wars.” He pointed out that such a framework was certainly not impossible to create in East Asia. Hatoyama said that for this to happen, it was vital to have a vision of an East Asian Community or Asian-Pacific Community, toward which cooperation between Japan and the ROK would first be important, and then it would be vital to go on to include China and the United States. He stressed that as a first step toward achieving this, it would be important for Japan and the ROK to sign an FTA. Lee agreed with these points, going on to add that negotiations regarding the Japan-ROK FTA had been delayed on several points, but indicated that this difficulty would naturally be resolved if the two nations were able to increase their confidence in each other, stating, “This may well be a question of political trust between Japan and the ROK.” Hatoyama summed up his impression of the meeting in these terms: “Generally speaking, I felt that President Lee has high expectations regarding the birth of a new DPJ government.”