History of disputes to affect the adjournment of Japan-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreements (JKFTA)

Abstract

The nonexistence of Japan and Republic of South Korea (ROK) Free Trade Agreement—known also as JKFTA—draws many commotion for scholars, political observers, business elites, and also their people. It seems very out of place for both country to never bring about a supposedly, desired bilateral economic agreement since Japan and ROK are always close, both in territory and culture. On the other hand, the Liancourt Rock and comfort women are two of the main lingering issues that seems to be progressively deteriorated by time. Through an elaborate analysis using Constructivism theory, This research tries to answer the decade-long question on how do the historical dispute of Japan and ROK affects the adjournment of JKFTA. Constructivism brings an aspect of established assumptions or ideas and principles within the society in bringing an effective repercussion to government’s actions and plans. By the use of Alexander Wendt’s concepts and parable, this research found that the progress in actualizing JKFTA is hindered by a considerate amount of thought to the feedback from the people. Government from Japan and ROK is undeniably much attentive to values and beliefs living in people’s mind, thus, making the impediment of JKFTA and also creating a safe ground for their political parties and current administration for the next years ahead.