Discussion
On September 23, 2025, the 44th Japan Diagnosis Seminar took place at the Graduate School of International Studies, Seoul National University, under the theme “How Japan Views Korea, How Korea Views Japan: The Negative Legacies of the Abe and Moon Administrations, and Koizumi, Takaichi, and LEE Jae Myung.” The speaker was KIMURA Kan, Professor at the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University. His 50-minute lecture was followed by 40 minutes of Q&A.
Professor Kimura reviewed the trajectory of Japan–Korea relations research and shared insights from three months of fieldwork in Korea, situating his work within comparative politics. He emphasized how foreign scholars can contribute “relativization” and comparative perspectives, and drew on cases such as the CHO Kuk scandal and the assassination of ABE Shinzo to analyze present bilateral dynamics. He noted that anti-Japan sentiment around Korea’s 2025 Liberation Day was comparatively subdued.
In discussion, questions focused on the Lee administration's “pragmatism,” with observations that its micromanaging style blurred distinctions between progressive and conservative politics. Other themes included the gap between images of “the other country” and “the other people” in opinion surveys, the challenge of translating “pragmatic diplomacy,” and the roles of dictatorship, anti-communism, and identity politics in Korean political life.
Turning to Japanese politics, debates considered whether ISHIBA Shigeru should be regarded as a liberal relative to Abe, and how Korea–Japan relations might shift under leaders like TAKAICHI Sanae or KOIZUMI Shinjiro. The seminar concluded with reflections on YouTubers as a new political force and their uneasy ties to institutional politics.
