The History of South Korea-Japan Relations
（Iwanami Press,2021）
Tadashi Kimiya
（Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo）
It is my great honor for me to receive such an excellent prize as Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Award.
I appreciate so much for the Masayoshi Ohira Foundation and those who are concerned for publishing my book. In fact, the name, Masayoshi Ohira, is referred in my book. What is called, “Kim Ohira Memorandum” between the Japanese Foreign Minister, Masayoshi Ohira, and the Director of Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim, Jong-pil in 1962. Against the normalization talks between South Korea and Japan at that time, many Korean people participated in the massive demonstrations. And afterwards there has also been consistent criticism in South Korea that they cannot come terms with the colonial past only with South Korea-Japan normalization in 1965. The history problems lying between South Korea and Japan even now are regarded as the extension of such criticism.
Taking the Japanese superior power relations to South Korea, and the Japanese ordinary perceptions of the colonial past at that time as given, however, it was much difficult for us to have available alternatives to the 1965 normalization. Moreover, as for South Korea, which had been inferior to North Korea in terms of power, achieving economic development by taking advantage of the Japanese economic aid, was regarded as one of the most urgent tasks. At last, South Korea has achieved not only advanced capitalist development but also political democracy so successfully that South Korea is now one of the advanced capitalist democracies. We are very proud of the fact that South Korean-Japan collaboration has given huge benefits not only for ourselves but also for all over the world.
As a result, South Korea-Japan relations have been transformed from asymmetrical into symmetrical in terms of power, values, arenas, and mutual concerns. But we are now amid serious disputes. I don’t think such structural transformation has necessarily resulted in conflicts. We can upgrade our relations into more productive and fruitful ones with our wise political leadership. But it cannot be realized at least now.
Fortunately, we are now in more promising atmosphere according to the South Korea’s change of government from liberal into conservative. Moreover, we must tackle such vital and difficult tasks as dealing with the North Korean nuclear and missile crisis, and the intensification of US-China strategic rivalries, and so on, which we can never overcome without our competitive collaboration. I hope this book will contribute to finding the new opportunities for our future, and moreover, what I receive this award will give huge courage and incentives for those who are afraid of our contemporary situations. I sincerely appreciate so much again.

Profile
Professor Kimiya graduated from the Faculty of Law, The University of Tokyo in 1983 and then, developed his research in Graduate School of Law and Politics of The University of Tokyo, at the master’s course and then the doctoral course. Then he decided to study at the doctoral course of Korea University in South Korea in 1986. And he received Ph.D. in comparative politics and Korean politics from the Graduate School of Politics and International Relations, Korea University, in 1992. He also completed the doctoral coursework in The University of Tokyo in 1993.
He became an assistant professor, the Faculty of Law, Hosei University in 1993. And he became an assistant professor, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at The University of Tokyo in 1996. And then he became an associate professor in 2000 and at last has become a professor from 2010 onward. During that time, he was a visiting scholar at Harvard University in 2002-3.