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Question

The recent decision by the Supreme Court of Korea that acknowledged the individual claims filed by the victims of forced conscription by Japan is receiving a lot of attention. 'Treaty of Peace with Japan (or San Francisco Peace Treaty)' is thought to have had a great influence on the post-war Korea-Japan relations. What is this treaty about?

Answer

Treaty of Peace with Japan (the 'Treaty' hereinafter) is a peace treaty signed between Japan and the 48 allied powers to put an end to World War II. It is also known as San Francisco Peace Treaty because it was signed in San Francisco on September 8, 1951 and took effect on April 28, 1952. The Treaty consists of preamble, 27 articles in the main text, and two declarations and one protocol annexed to it. The Treaty addresses the overall issues of Japan's post-war settlements, and Japan's territory issues and claims. Of the 55 countries in the Allied Forces engaged in war with Japan during World War II, the Soviet Union and other communist countries (Poland and Czechoslovakia) refused to sign the treaty, although they had participated in it, as they were opposed to its contents.

Not only was the Treaty not an overall peace settlement because it was not participated by the communist countries in the wake of the rift between the East and the West in the Cold War resulting from the conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but it left many issues unsettled, such as the issues of reparation, fishing business, and trade left to be settled by bilateral negotiation and agreement. Furthermore, Korea was not invited to the Treaty due to the opposition of the U.K. and Japan on the grounds that Korea was a Japanese colony. As a result, the post-war settlements of Korea and Japan were not concluded until 1964 through the bilateral negotiations that lasted as long as 14 years. The Japanese government claims that their post-war settlements have been completely and finally concluded, at least legally, through the Treaty and other bilateral treaties later, except for North Korea with which negotiation has been suspended. However, Japan's post-war settlements have continued to be questioned and challenged since the Treaty. In particular, the issues of reparation for the victims of sexual slavery by Japan, of forced conscription, and of territory became the symbols of the complaints of Asian countries against Japan. In a sense, 'the issues of past' have turned into issues that still persist and remain unresolved today, and become important variables, at least in Korea-Japan relations.

The backgrounds of this development may be the Cold War that led to political division of the world and limitations that existed in getting multiple nations to sign a treaty. As the outbreak of the Korean War intensified the Cold War, the political situation in East Asia at that time required the strengthened roles of Japan, which caused the U.S. to view that swift negotiation with the victorious countries that would lead to signing a peace treaty with Japan would be their utmost priority. As a result, the Treaty was prepared in such a way that many controversial issues would not be specified in the text, eventually giving rise to a number of post-war problems.

I believe that it is up to the people of today to find wise solutions to problems arising from treaties concluded in the past.