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Hisahiko Okazaki, 岡崎久彦(1930~2014)

ⓒOkazaki Institute

Hisahiko Okazaki

Hisahiko Okazaki was a typical elite diplomat in Japan. In the early 1960s, he became a foreign diplomat while attending the University of Tokyo Law Department, and later trained at Cambridge University and Harvard University. He also served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Thailand. After his retirement, he established a private research institute to analyze the international situation and proposed Japan's diplomatic strategy through his writing activities. However, among Koreans who are somewhat familiar with the Japanese trend, Hisahiko Okazaki seems to be known as a conservative critic or far-right person. In fact, Okazaki retired from the Foreign Ministry and joined a group that tried to reevaluate Japanese history after the Meiji Restoration. And he was a teacher to those who claimed Normal Country, including Professor Shinichi Kitaoka, and served as Abe's key diplomatic and security brain. Therefore, this evaluation is not so wrong.

A New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership towards the 21 Century

President Kim Dae-jung and Prime Minister Obuchi expressed a common belief in the joint statement 

that the new Korea-Japan partnership in the 21st century could be developed to a higher level 

by broad participation and efforts of both countries. And they appealed for the people of both countries 

to join in the joint work for the establishment and development of a new partnership. ⓒYonhap News    

Okazaki's Unconventional Perceptions of Korea and Its Influence

He was a conservative right-wing figure within the intellectuals in Japan. On the other hand, he is also a person who expressed the idea that Japan should recognize and evaluate Korean society and history accurately from the 70s. He was appointed as a councilor to the Korean Embassy in 1973. Based on his experience in Korea, he will publish an essay titled 「What I thought in a neighboring country」 in 『Shokun(諸君)』 from 1976 to 77 years. In fact, when he stayed in Korea, the relationship between Korea and Japan was the worst due to the Munsegwang incident in 1974. This led Japanese political circles and intellectual societies to recognize Korea as a country of military dictatorship.

In such a situation, Okazaki said, "Japanese society is too ignorant about Korean history." He also pointed out that there is strong resistance and opposition to studying Korean history and language at Japanese universities. He said that there are many interesting factors in the history of the Three Kingdoms Unification and the Goryeo Taejo Wanggun compared to the history of the world. Ahn Jung-geun, who assassinated Ito Hirobumi, is a patriot and a cultural figure in the Joseon Dynasty, and is considered to be a first-class person who can be compared to Japan's Sakamoto Ryoma. And he pointed out that Japan was still ignorant of Korea's history and society, so the contempt for Korea was born in Japan and it appeared as mutual distrust and disgust between Korea and Japan.

Okazaki emphasized that Korean citizens have a great level of culture and that Korea's economic growth at the time is noteworthy. He also said that Japan should actively support Korea's economic development and safety guarantees. Such support was a way to solve the bad feelings about Japan, which has been settled in the hearts of Koreans due to history. In conclusion, he emphasizes that it is Japan's far-sighted national policy to maintain friendly relations between Korea and Japan.

His essay resonated with people by winning an award from the Japanese Essayers Association. And it seems to have had a considerable impact on the Japanese political policy of Korea, which is led by the Liberal Democratic Party. Korea and Japan have had ups and downs. However, as shown in Joint Declaration on a New ROK-Japan Partnership towards the 21st Century*, it was agreed that the two countries should face the past and move forward in the future. I think this is because there were intellectuals and politicians with the same perception as Okazaki in Japan.

(* The Joint Declaration was adopted in 1998 by former ROK President Kim Dae-jung and former Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.)

On July 31, 2007, I visited the Okazaki Institute in Tokyo and talked with him for about an hour. He was an old man, but he seriously answered my questions about Japan's security policy and the US-Japan alliance. In conclusion, he emphasized that cooperation in diplomacy and defense between Korea, the US and Japan is necessary in the future.

Hisahiko Okazaki’s essay

「What I thought in the neighboring country」

The Reality of Japanese and Korean Politicians in the 21st Century

However, few Japanese politicians are worried about Japan's foreign policy from a big perspective like Okazaki. Moreover, there is no person studying the policy of Korea in the extension line. The ROK-Japan Agreement on the 'Comfort Women' Issue(2015) acknowledged historical facts related to the comfort women in the face of opposition from some conservative right-wingers in Japan. It was important to support the sexual slavery victims with the funds of the Japanese government. But Japanese political leaders did not show a true apology for the sexual slavery victims for the Japanese imperial army. In the face of China's rise as a powerful nation, offensive military policy and North Korea's continued build-up of its nuclear capabilities, Japan must continue to cooperate with South Korea as well as the United States. However, Japanese leaders have taken measures to stimulate Korea, such as export regulations on strategic materials. Okazaki's excellent idea of ​​a young day that 'Korea-Japan relations are Japan's far-sighted national policy'. His juniors, intellectuals and politicians in Japan, seem to be forgetting this.

Of course, Korean political leaders will not be an exception to such criticism. Korea is emerging as an important economic and diplomatic country as well as Japan. Now, it is necessary to look at the international situation and the relationship between countries, away from the mentality of the weak countries. The current relationship between Korea and Japan is on the worse. As Okazaki did, I think that intellectuals and politicians from both countries should make efforts to establish a long-range plan for East Asia in the 21st century and rebuild bilateral relations.