It made me rather speechless to hear the news Sept. 7 that the Japanese government had arbitrarily refused to receive a petition from Chongryon, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, calling for temporary port-entry permission for a North Korean ship to receive urgent humanitarian relief supplies provided by Koreans in Japan so that it could deliver them to the flood-stricken North Korean people.

It's been nearly a year since the Japanese government totally banned the entry of vessels from North Korea, in protest against North Korea's nuclear test last October. During this period, there hasn't been a glimpse of North Korean vessels at any port in Japan. Not only many Korean residents in Japan but also a number of Japanese people concerned with bilateral trade have suffered innumerable inconveniences and economic damage.

The worst flood in 40 years devastated many parts of North Korea in early August, and multimillion-dollar appeals for aid went out from many international organizations such as the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Many countries have promptly responded to the appeal and sent aid to North Korea. The Japanese government, though, has not missed the chance to announce that it has no intention of providing any aid on a governmental scale.

Also surprising is that the government scornfully refused to receive a petition addressed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A Cabinet official sent it back to the Chongryon office unopened. It's as if a next-door neighbor refused to pay his sympathies at a house in mourning, but instead made a lot of noise, while a distant neighbor came to help the mourning family. I fear the harder the attitude Japan takes toward North Korea, the longer it will take to reconcile the sentiments of people in both countries. The current attitude of the Japanese government makes matters more unfavorable for Japan.

jun kim