Deputy Minister to Attend Seoul Defense Dialogue in Place of Japanese Defense Minister

Tensions Escalate as Minister Koizumi Visits Yasukuni Shrine

Opening Ceremony of the 13th Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) Held in 2024 Photo by Yonhap News

It has been confirmed that the Japanese Minister of Defense will not attend the annual multilateral security forum, the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD), hosted by the Ministry of National Defense next week.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on September 4, the Japanese Ministry of Defense will be represented by the Director-General for International Affairs, a vice-ministerial-level official, at the Seoul Defense Dialogue scheduled to be held from September 7 to 9 this month. Last year, then Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani attended the Seoul Defense Dialogue, but this year, attendance will once again be at the Director-General level, which is a lower rank. In fact, prior to Minister Nakatani’s attendance last year, it was common for Japan to send its Director-General for International Affairs to the Seoul Defense Dialogue.

Although the specific reason for the final decision not to have Minister Koizumi attend has not been disclosed, his recent visit to the Yasukuni Shrine is being cited as a major cause of the cooling atmosphere. On August 15, which is celebrated as Liberation Day in Korea and as the anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, Minister Koizumi, as the incumbent Minister of Defense, visited the Yasukuni Shrine—where Class A war criminals are enshrined—for the first time in two years. The Korean government views an incumbent Minister of Defense’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine far more seriously than similar visits by other cabinet members.

Recently, cooperation between the defense authorities of South Korea and Japan had been growing more active, with high-level exchanges such as Defense Minister Shin Wonsik’s visit to Japan in January, the defense ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit (Shangri-La Dialogue) in Singapore at the end of May, and Minister Koizumi’s bilateral visit to Korea in June. There are now concerns that this momentum could be disrupted following Minister Koizumi’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.