The Japanese government again stated in the official document issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that 'Korea is an important neighbor', but repeated this year's claim that Dokdo is its territory and Korea is illegally occupying.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan stated on the Dokdo in the 2020 edition of the Foreign Affairs Office, which was reported to the written agreement on the 19th. I did.

He wrote, "Korea continues to occupy Takeshima illegally without any ground under international law, such as resident guards."
In 2017, the Japanese government's Foreign Affairs Office claimed Dokdo was its territory, but did not go so far as to claim that it was "illegal", but since 2018 it has been claiming sovereignty using a stronger expression of illegal seizure.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also insisted in the Foreign Affairs Office this year that it was contrary to the fact that the term “sex slave” was used in relation to the Japanese comfort women issue.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly published a statement in the Foreign Affairs Office last year that "the expression 'sex slave' is contrary to the fact. It was also confirmed by the Korean side during the December 2015 agreement and was not used in the agreement." I did.

The South Korean government has pointed out that the technology is not true, but Japan does not appear to have modified its diplomatic office.

Last year, the Japanese government tightened export regulations to Korea as a de facto retaliation against the convictions for punishment, and the South Korean government announced the policy to end the Korea-Japan Military Information Protection Agreement (GSOMIA, Gisomia) and suspended it later. The situation in which the relationship was not smooth was reflected in the diplomatic office this year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs diagnosed Gisomia and the prosecution lawsuit and said that "a difficult situation continued" in the relationship between Korea and Japan.

According to Kyodo News, this year's diplomatic office contained the expression "Korea is an important neighbor".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan stipulated in the 2017 Foreign Affairs Office that "Korea is the most important neighbor that shares strategic interests," but this phrase was removed from the 2018 and 2019 Foreign Affairs Offices.

Although Korea has re-emphasized that it is an important neighbor, after three years, it is different from what was described in 2017 because the expression “sharing strategic interests” was not included.

Prime Minister Abe said in a speech to the National Assembly last October that "Korea is an important neighbor", and this level of perception seems to have been reflected in the diplomatic office.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed this year in the Foreign Affairs Office that "our islands have sovereignty over our country" on the four islands of Kuril (northern Japanese territory).

The 2018 Foreign Affairs Office stated that "the four islands of the North belong to Japan," but the legal summit on the issue was removed last year while aiming for a consensus on the territorial issue at the Japan-Russia summit. In fact, it is.

Kyodo News analyzed that it seems to have re-established its position in consideration of the backlash of the domestic conservatives and stagnation of territorial negotiations regarding the removal of technology on the four islands of Kuril last year.

The Foreign Affairs Office is a kind of white paper that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan recognizes about its diplomatic situation, prospects, and international affairs. It has been published every year since 1957.

(Photo = Capture of Foreign Affairs Office provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yonhap News)