日, '보복조치 아냐' 국제 여론전 계획…'아베 발언'이 걸림돌

Japan seems to be gearing up for a stronger defense against South Korea's claims that the recent export curbs are unfair and politcally motivated.
Seoul has been gathering more global support over its stance, but Tokyo is trying to shift that sentiment in its favor.
Lee Ji-won updates us on the situation.
Japan's Kyodo News Agency says Tokyo plans to start officially promoting its view to the international society that its trade restrictions on South Korea are not retaliation for Seoul's court ruling on forced labor.
Citing numerous government officials, the agency reported Tuesday that Japan will be telling other countries that its export controls are a security management issue an attempt to counter Seoul's view that the measures are unfair and political.
According to Kyodo, Seoul's efforts to persuade the international community continue,... including an appeal at the World Trade Organization,... and the Japanese government is trying to get the upper hand.
This includes seeking support at bilateral talks and multilateral conferences, and especially, Kyodo says, working in various ways to win the support of the United States.
But despite these efforts, the logic of Japan's claims about the cause of the row... seems to break down in remarks from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe himself.
Japan argues that its past use of Koreans for forced labor was resolved in 1965, while South Korea's Supreme Court says that agreement doesn't take away the individual right to reparations.
At a news conference Tuesday, Abe said that in the current situation,... the most important thing is the need for South Korea to abide by the agreement, and that the biggest issue between the two is trust.
Seoul's foreign ministry pointed out that Abe's remarks show that the source of the trade row is indeed the forced labor ruling, and thus the trade restrictions are retaliatory.
"Japan's been continously changing its reason for restricting exports to Seoul. From lack of trust,... security concerns related to North Korea,... to the 'current lack of a management system for sensitive goods.' But the international community already knows that this is retaliation and thus Japan's efforts to persuade other countries won't be so effective."
Still, the professor says, Seoul must continue to counter every one of Japan's excuses and share its reasoning with the international community.
He said support from international meetings will put great pressure on Japan, and will eventually force them to find an exit plan.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.