日韓関係における言説の悪魔化とその影響: 日本側の狀況を中心に

Abstract

“Japanese-South Korean relations are at their worst since normalization in 1965”. This is the phrase that the Japanese media frequently uses to portray the situation between the two countries today. Since South Korea’s Supreme Court in October 2018 ordered Japanese companies to provide compensation to South Koreans forced to work in its factories during World War II, Japan-South Korean relations have been almost deadlocked. However, this is not the first crisis in diplomatic relations between the two nations. Japan and South Korea have continued to have the same issues over the years, such as comfort women, history textbooks, and the Yasukuni War Shrine. How is today’s situation different from the past, and how is it changing? This paper attempts to analyze the situation by looking at the discourse in Japanese media, including major newspapers, television programs, and journal articles. As a result, the author found that there was a strong trend of “demonization” of political leaders under the Abe-Moon administrations. Japanese media—in particular, conservative outlets—tried to explain the worsening of the relationship by attacking the personal characteristics of the South Korean political president, Moon Jae-in, and asserting that he was the criminal in the situation, without paying any serious attention to the complicated background of the disputes. A similar kind of “demonization” of political leaders can be found in South Korea, too, attributing all the culpability for the worsening situation to the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. However, after the retirement of Moon and the assassination of Abe in the same year, these oversimplified explanations are no longer relevant. How would a new explanation be found for the situation, and who would then be named the guilty party? Or would the dispute finally merit a more serious and objective understanding? These would be the next big questions of the discourse on the conflict.