Though it remains to be seen how history will judge the June 12 summit between U. S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, present Jap
OSAKA – Though it remains to be seen how history will judge the June 12 summit between U. S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, present Japanese and Western views across the political spectrum are generally either skeptical of North Korea’s sincerity in honoring any agreement or of America’s ability to sincerely negotiate an effective one.
But no matter how one views the summit, it has set a precedent and created expectations worldwide that leaders in not only the U. S., but also Japan will now work harder to improve relations with North Korea.
For Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in particular, that is a problem. Between the unresolved abduction issue and political allies who are wary of, if not hostile toward, friendly relations with Pyongyang, Abe and his allies lack the deep expertise and informal back-door channels to North Korea that his less ideologically rigid predecessors in the Liberal Democratic Party once enjoyed.
This reality is felt especially in the Kansai region. While few Koreans or Japanese in Kansai have much faith in Abe’s ability to do more than follow Trump’s lead on North Korea, the days prior to the summit saw some out-of-the-box thinking whispered in the halls of Osaka’s political and media establishments as to how Tokyo might improve relations with Pyongyang.
Perhaps the craziest idea floated by some media pundits was for Japan to extend Kim Jong Un an invitation to next year’s Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Osaka.
