Japan Is Starting to Feel South Korea’s Boycott on Their Exports

Korean consumers are holding a massive boycott of Japanese goods while South Korea finds itself in the midst of a trade war with Japan. Everything from Japanese petrol to beer to anime movie tickets has been snubbed by Koreans in the past few weeks as anti-Japan sentiments increase in the country.

But what’s prompting tensions?

Old wounds, it turns out. The reopening of historical disputes thought to be long-over between the two countries has resulted in this trade war.

Japan once occupied South Korea for 35 years, between 1910 and 1945. This period was marked by extreme levels of violence and oppression. While the Japanese occupation ended seventy years ago, many Koreans remain angry at the lasting effects of their rule.

Last year, the South Korean Supreme Court decreed that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries should compensate ten “comfort women,” women forced to provide sex for Japanese men during the course of World War 2, for the horrors they endured. Mitsubishi was one of the firms which used this form of forced labor at this time.

Japan, meanwhile, believed that this matter was already taken care of in 1965, with a treaty between the two countries. The vacillating accusations have led to this trade war, with a number of aggressions coming from both parties.

In early July 2019, Japan announced that they would impose restrictions on the export of hi-tech materials to Korea. This includes semiconductor chips and smartphone displays, which could have a lasting impact on South Korean tech heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

On July 5, Seoul officially dissolved a foundation set up with Japanese funds to compensate victims of sex slavery. The fund, worth $8.8 million, was established in 2015 as a joint effort by Seoul and Tokyo to overcome the pains of Japanese occupations. Japan believed the shutting down of the fund was “extremely problematic,” according to Tokyo’s deputy chief cabinet secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura.

The latest move comes from Korea, in the form of this prolonged boycott. Japan is already feeling its impact.

Japanese exports such as instant noodles and seasoning sauces are already reporting losses between 26 to 30 percent. Tickets to Japan for holidays have fallen as much as 70 percent from Korea. Cancellations for trips that were previously booked have reached 50 percent, according to travel agents. Gas stations reportedly won’t fill up Japanese model cars. Meanwhile, certain stores in Korea have allegedly rid themselves of Japanese products entirely.

A drop in beer sales, too, has led to losses of up to 40 percent for Japanese makers. Japanese beer mega-brand Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. could lose about $35 million in revenue this year in South Korea.

The Japan Times also reports that Seoul is planning to report Tokyo to the World Trade Organization for unfair trading practices.

Your move, Japan.

Find Meera on Twitter and Instagram.