Tag: Japan

President Lee maybe talking nice about the Japanese now, but we all know how this is going to end. When Lee inevitably begins to slide in the polls or some scandal pops up, be prepared for the latest Dokdo or comfort women crisis to happen:

 President Lee Jae-myung on Monday called for South Korea and Japan to join hands for a better future, casting the two neighbors as important partners bound to work together amid a rapidly changing global environment.

Lee made the remark in a congratulatory video message at the start of an event hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which falls on this Sunday.

“South Korea and Japan are key partners who must cooperate closely in responding to a rapidly changing global landscape. Let’s join hands and move toward a better future,” Lee said.

The phrase “join hands and move toward a better future” is the official slogan for the 60th anniversary of the normalization of the ties. Korea was under Japan’s colonial rule from 1910-45

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I had no idea that the Japanese road tax sticker was designed by a USFJ civilian employee. This is a pretty cool story:

Tomoko Hyatt has no formal art training, but her designs are in high demand across Japan, displayed by tens of thousands of people and growing in popularity. Hyatt, a civilian employee at this U.S. airlift hub in western Tokyo, creates the colorful sticker that anyone under the status of forces agreement must display each spring on their personal vehicle to prove they have paid the annual Japanese road tax. (………)

Her husband, Matthew Hyatt, a meteorological technician with the 374th Operations Support Squadron, has a background in graphic design and introduced her to Adobe Illustrator. Her work has sparked a following. She recently launched a Facebook page — Tomoko’s Tokyo Treasures — where she sells items featuring her designs, including patches, ceramic ornaments and stickers.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

With the current political uncertainty in South Korea, the ROK military probably does not want to something as significant as direct military cooperation with Japan, even if it is in the Philippines:

The South Korean Marine Corps on Tuesday denied Japanese media reports that claimed the two countries will hold a joint military drill in the Philippines next month.

Earlier in the day, Kyodo News Agency and NHK reported the Korean Marine Corps will hold its first-ever joint exercise with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) during KAMANDAG, an annual international military exercise in the Philippines, slated for next month. 

The Marine Corps, however, rejected the reports, saying it has no such plan.

“We will conduct combined drills with the United States and the Philippines, but have no plan to do so with the JGSDF,” an official from the Marine Corps told Yonhap News Agency over the phone.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.