Embassy of Japan, Seoul

Coordinates: 37°34′31″N 126°58′47″E / 37.5754°N 126.9798°E / 37.5754; 126.9798
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Embassy of Japan in Seoul
Map
LocationSeoul
AddressTwin Tree Tower A, 6, Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Coordinates37°34′31″N 126°58′47″E / 37.5754°N 126.9798°E / 37.5754; 126.9798
AmbassadorKoichi Aiboshi

The Embassy of Japan in Seoul (주 대한민국 일본 대사관; 駐大韓民國 日本 大使館) is the diplomatic mission of Japan in South Korea. It is located in Seoul, South Korea's capital.

History[edit]

The current embassy was opened on 18 December 1965, following the re-establishment of relations between the two countries, under its first ambassador, Toshikatsu Maeda.[1] In 2015, the embassy was moved to another location with the embassy building being renovated.[2]

In addition to this embassy, Japan also has two consulates in South Korea: one in Busan and one in Jeju.[3]

Description[edit]

The building has been described as "a large, red brick structure surrounded by high, barbed-wire-topped walls and guarded at all hours by dozens of police officers".[4] In 2015, renovation work begun on the embassy's current building, built in 1976.[5]

Demonstrations[edit]

The embassy is known as the site of numerous South Korean anti-Japanese demonstrations.[4] In 1974 the embassy was ransacked by angry protesters, during a time of heightened tensions between Japan and South Korea.[6] In 2005 two South Koreans sliced off their fingers during a protest related to the Liancourt Rocks dispute, outside the embassy.[7] In 2012 a South Korean driver rammed his truck against the gate of the embassy, claiming it was done to highlight the Liancourt Rocks dispute.[8]

Comfort women protests[edit]

A comfort women rally in front of the embassy, August 2011

Since 1992 the embassy has been a site of weekly Wednesday demonstrations, related to the comfort women issue.[9] The controversial Statue of Peace, related to the comfort women issue, was unveiled in front of the embassy in 2011, causing another lengthy diplomatic row between Japan and South Korea.[10][11] In 2012 a Chinese man threw four Molotov cocktails at the embassy to voice his anger over the comfort women issue.[12] In 2015 an elderly South Korean man set himself on fire during a weekly Wednesday demonstration.[4]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "미래희망기구". www.hopetofuture.org. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  2. ^ https://www.chosun.com/english/national-en/2015/06/23/LZZRX25DA2ZM6L5ND4BOWBDOOM/
  3. ^ "Websites of Japanese Embassies, Consulates and Permanent Missions | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan". www.mofa.go.jp. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "South Korean man lights himself on fire during anti-Japan protest in Seoul". Los Angeles Times. 12 August 2015. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Japanese Embassy to Move to Temporary Location". Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  6. ^ Japan and Korea: The Political Dimension. Hoover Press. 13 April 1985. ISBN 9780817981839.
  7. ^ island, Justin McCurry on Ulleungdo (18 August 2010). "Rocky relations between Japan and South Korea over disputed islands". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Japan anger after protester rams truck at embassy in South Korea". BBC News. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  9. ^ Barbara Molony; Jennifer Nelson (9 February 2017). Women's Activism and "Second Wave" Feminism: Transnational Histories. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-4742-5053-5.
  10. ^ Padden, Brian. "Weekly Korea Protests Keep Japanese WWII Atrocities Alive". VOA. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  11. ^ Sol Han and James Griffiths (6 February 2017). "Why this statue of a young girl caused a diplomatic incident". CNN. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Chinese man throws firebombs at Japanese Embassy". The Korea Times. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2017.

External links[edit]