Lies in the theory of "Japan and Korea are inseparable relations" viewed by numbers
South Korean government takes countermeasures
Suspended visa waiver for Japanese people
2020/03/07
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Next, from the point of "flow of goods",
Let's look at trade volume (Chart 3).
Figure 3 Connections between Japanese and Korean goods
|
Classification |
Number |
Overall importance |
|
① Exports from Japan to Korea ( 2019 ) |
5,044.2104.5 million yen |
6.6 % of Japan's total exports (¥ 76,927,306.92 million) |
|
② Japan's imports from Korea ( 2019 ) |
3,229,162.19 million yen |
4.1 % of Japan's total imports ( 78,571,135,157,000 yen) |
|
③ Exports from Korea to Japan ( 2019 ) |
$ 28,420.21 million |
5% of total Korean exports ($ 542,326.61 million) |
|
輸入 Imports of Korea from Japan ( 2019 ) |
$ 47,508.85 million |
9.5 % of total Korean imports ($ 503,342.95 million) |
([Source]
①②: Japanese government's “Ordinary Trade Statistics”,
②: Bank of Korea data)
What do you think.
Japan's trade volume in 2019 is
Exports were about 76.9 trillion yen and imports were about 78.6 trillion yen.
Exports to Korea are a little 5 trillion yen, imports are 3.2 trillion yen,
They were only 6.6 % and 4.1 % respectively.
Given the fact that they are neighbors,
I guess many people have the impression that "it's surprisingly few."
In fact, Korea has a similar situation.
Korea has a smaller economy than Japan,
The scale of trade is slightly less than Japan,
It can be said that it is a country with a very high dependence on trade
However,
Korea's trade volume in 2019 is
Exports amounted to $ 542.2 billion ($ 1,110 = ¥ 59,652 billion)
Exports from Korea to Japan were $ 28.4 billion (about 3.1 trillion yen)
This is only 5%
(The figures for ① and ③ are slightly different,
Probably due to currency conversion etc.).
South Korea's imports are 503.3 billion dollars (about 55.363 billion yen)
However,
Accounts for just under 10 % of imports,
After all it is not the biggest import destination for Korea.
Of course,
But if we ignore this "qualitative importance",
From a “supply chain” perspective,
Surprisingly, the connection between Japan, Korea, Japan and Korea is thin.
A country less than 2% for Japan in terms of money
By the way, from the aspect of money,
Since the flow of money from Korea to Japan is very small,
Let's just look at the flow of money from Japan to Korea (Chart 4).
Figure 4 Credit and investment from Japan to Korea
|
item |
Number |
Overall importance |
|
① External credit of Japanese financial institutions (final risk base, September 2019 ) |
$ 54 billion |
1.23% of Japan's total external credit ($ 4.5549 trillion) |
|
(2) Amount borrowed by South Korea from Japanese financial institutions (financial risk base, September 2019 ) |
$ 54 billion |
16.37 % of Korea's total external debt ( 329.8 billion dollars) |
|
③ Japan's foreign direct investment ( 2018 ) |
$ 39.1 billion |
2.38% of Japan's total foreign investment ($ 1,645.9 billion) |
([Source] ①② is [ BIS final risk-based statistics ],
(3) [ JETRO "Direct Investment Statistics" ]
….
What do you think.
The connection between Japan and South Korea is so thin that it is hard to imagine it between neighboring countries.
In particular, according to the external credit statistics of Japanese financial institutions,
The total amount of money that Japan lends to foreign countries is over $ 4 trillion,
Japan is truly the world's largest creditor (*)
However, the credit to South Korea is only 1%.
(* However, the reason why Japan's external credit is expanding is that
Structured investment and U.S. Treasury markets through the Cayman Islands
I think that the influence of securities financing etc. is also large ... )
Japan-Korea relations not inevitable
Either way, just in terms of objective facts,
At least in terms of the three elements of "human, things, money"
Japan and Korea are mutual
There is no doubt that it is not the "most important country".
Speaking of people, things, money
In recent years, only “human traffic” has become increasingly important.
But if you think that it was also temporary since 2015 ,
The recent “No Japan Movement” and immigration visa commotion,
It may be simply to return to the state before 2015 (Chart 5).
Exhibit 5 Mutual traffic between Japan and Korea (since 2003 )
Korea to Japan 
Japan to Korea 
Traffic between Japan and Korea
Unit: 10,000 people
(Source: Created by the author based on Japan Tourism Board data and Korea Tourism Organization data)
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Of course, myself, as one of the Japanese people,
If they are trying to build a future-oriented and friendly relationship,
I think we also have an obligation to answer it.
But at leastFormer President 李明博(Lee Myung-bak,이명박), landing on Takeshima
And 天皇陛下（His Majesty the Emperor）'s insult
(* Current 上皇陛下(The Emperor Emeritus))
Former President 朴槿恵(Park Geun-hye,박근혜)'s fierce anti-Japan,
And an unusual move under the 文在寅（Moon Jae-in,문재인）administration
When Japanese people look at it, we get tired of it.
In any case,
I'm very sorry for the late Prime Minister 中曽根康弘(Yasuhiro Nakasone)
However, because
we are neighbors, we must deepen our relationship,
That is not logically persuasive,
At least the discussion ignores the actual economic relations between Japan and Korea
I have to say that.
* That's it for the text .