On June 21, 2015, the Japan-Korea Tunnel Oita Prefectural Citizens Conference was held in Oita, and Chairman Eiji Tokuno gave a speech.
The contents of the lecture will be posted below.
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Chairman Eiji Tokuno's commemorative speech, "The necessity of a Japan-Korea tunnel,"
at the 2015 general meeting of the Oita Prefectural Council for the Japan-Korea Tunnel,
June 21, 2015, at the Rembrandt Hotel Oita.
Given the current international situation, I believe that improving relations between South Korea and Japan is an urgent priority. Thanks to Prime Minister Abe's efforts, Japan-U.S. relations have reached a stage close to a honeymoon period. We have now moved past the hollow stage in which former Prime Minister Hatoyama offered "trust me," and the United States now trusts Prime Minister Abe.
Therefore, there is no problem with Japan-US relations. The problem is Korea-Japan relations. Prime Minister Abe and President Park Geun-hye have yet to meet in person. This is extremely worrying.
Therefore, I would like to present to you five proposals to improve Korea-Japan relations.
First, we need to increase exchanges.
It's about invigorating comprehensive exchanges, including private-sector exchanges, cultural exchanges, trade, and tourism. This also includes parliamentary diplomacy. I would like all prefectural and city assembly members to establish sister city ties with Korean cities. With which cities does Oita have sister city ties? Mokpo and Daegu? It's important to further invigorate such sister city ties and promote parliamentary diplomacy and exchanges at the administrative level. This will revive tourism, culture, and comprehensive exchanges. This is extremely important.
The second is mutual cooperation in the Olympics.
The 2002 World Cup was a huge success, and it's not that Japan and South Korea don't get along. Relations were good in 2002. Let's remember that, in 2018, we have the Pyeongchang Olympics. Mao Asada has finally decided to continue her career. I'd like to applaud her here. If Mao's participation in the Olympics encourages Kim Yuna to compete again, it will be a big success.
Japan will support the PyeongChang Olympics. In return, Korea will fully support the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, two years from now, and we will ensure the success of both the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the Tokyo Summer Olympics. If this can be achieved, I imagine and hope that the atmosphere will be extremely positive in 2020. I firmly believe that mutual cooperation in the Olympics is important.
The third is international marriage.
No matter how much Japan and Korea talk about getting along, the strongest bond they have is blood ties. If international marriages between young people in Korea and Japan increase in some way, and they become relatives by having common grandchildren, this will be the simplest, yet strongest, bond. Once you become relatives, it's hard to want to go to war with such a country. I think it would be good if international marriages between Korea and Japan increased in a natural way, rather than just crying over Korean dramas. What do you think?
The fourth point is a very delicate issue, but it is important to understand the differences in each other's positions.
I lived in Korea for about a year, so I understand how Koreans feel. We Japanese tend to think, "Why can't Koreans just let the past go and be future-oriented? They're always hung up on the past."
If we accept that the Japanese colonized Korea, then from the Korean perspective, the Japanese are the perpetrators. The Koreans are the victims. It is difficult for Japanese people to understand the difference between the positions of victim and perpetrator.
Koreans always say, "Why do Japanese people so easily forget about the past and talk about being future-oriented, while Koreans ask why they can't do the same, but they don't understand our feelings." Bringing up the past will not solve the Japan-Korea problem. If we bring up the textbook issue, the comfort women issue, or the Takeshima issue, it will become a quagmire.
However, unless we take into account the feelings and emotions of the Korean people who are in the position of victims and appeal to them for a future-oriented stance from that perspective, it will not be understood by the Korean people. We must be considerate of the differences in our positions. I believe this is important. If we can do this, I believe Japan-Korea relations can move towards a future-oriented stance in the truest sense.
The last stop is the Japan-Korea Tunnel.
There is nothing easier to understand than a Japan-Korea tunnel. Connecting the two countries with a road. There is no other project for Japan-Korea integration that is easier to understand. Connecting the two countries with a road will allow people, goods, and culture to move back and forth. After all, roads are the main arteries of distribution. In that sense, building a Japan-Korea tunnel can be considered a major, even decisive, opportunity to improve Japan-Korea issues.
So, what should we do to make the Japan-Korea tunnel a reality? There are two major requirements for making the Japan-Korea tunnel a reality.
The first point is that it will be difficult without the support of public opinion in both Korea and Japan. The other day, local Korean politicians gathered at the House of Representatives Hall, where I also gave a lecture. After his lecture, Professor Nozawa, chairman of the Japan-Korea Tunnel Research Group, said that he thought many people wanted the Japan-Korea Tunnel to become a reality. A local Korean politician raised his hand and said, "That's a Japanese side issue. Some Koreans are in favor of it, but there are still some who are opposed. The reason is that they are worried that Japan will invade through the Japan-Korea Tunnel again. There are still Koreans who are worried about that."
Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to raise public opinion, that is, to raise public opinion that the Japanese and Korean people need a tunnel, that we should build it, and that Japan and Korea should become one. To that end, it is necessary to deepen ties through the five measures I mentioned earlier.
The other thing is, without a doubt, the summit. The Eurotunnel also had its ups and downs. In fact, the idea for the Eurotunnel began in the time of Napoleon, and talk of an England-France tunnel has been going on since the 1800s. The Eurotunnel was a dream tunnel with a 200-year history. Finally, in 1986, the two leaders, Thatcher and Mitterrand, reached an agreement in Canterbury. The tunnel was completed in 1990. Four years later, in 1994, the Eurostar train began running through it. It took eight years to complete the England-France tunnel. It is 51 kilometers long.
What is noteworthy is that the Japan-Korea Tunnel and the Anglo-French Tunnel are very similar. They cross borders. It is a diplomatic issue. It is completely different from the Seikan Tunnel. As for diplomatic issues, Thatcher apparently made the following decision at the time: "Abandon glorious isolation." And never again fight or go to war with France. She reached her decision after finally confirming this. Britain and France are also countries that fought in the Hundred Years' War. Europe has been at war for a long time, between Britain and France, France and Germany, and Britain and Germany.
Amidst a series of wars, the Eurotunnel was ultimately decided upon, a decision to not wage war, to abandon war. It was this decision that led to the Canterbury Agreement. In other words, the Japan-Korea Tunnel ultimately isn't a matter of technology. Technically, I've heard time and again from engineers that there would be no problem if we use the technology Japan has already developed, as seen in the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge, the Setouchi Great Bridge, and the Seikan Tunnel. Technically, there are no problems. The budget is 10 trillion yen. It can be done with 10 trillion yen. The construction period is 10 years. Many people say it can be done with the technology currently available in Japan and Korea. 10 years. If it takes 10 years, those of you here today will have hope. You can look at it with your black eyes. I hope you live 10 years longer. If you live 10 years longer, you'll be able to see the Japan-Korea Tunnel with your own eyes.
The biggest problem is an emotional one. If Thatcher and Mitterrand could reach an agreement like the Anglo-French Tunnel, that Britain and France would never fight again, then the green light would be given immediately. Unless public opinion in Korea and Japan and a top-level meeting between President Park and Prime Minister Abe materialize, the green light will never be given. This is a diplomatic issue. Today, South Korea's Foreign Minister will be visiting Japan. Tomorrow, June 22nd, marks exactly 50 years since the restoration of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea in 1965. That memorable day is tomorrow.
One day before that memorable day, a lecture on the Japan-Korea Tunnel was held in Oita. Oita will pave the way for a new era for Japan and Korea. It is extremely significant that a lecture on the tunnel was held on this day, as this interpretation is valid. I have many Korean friends, and they say that when it comes to hot springs, Beppu is the place to be, and that Jigoku Onsen is the best among them. There are apparently many rumors that you should definitely visit that place. Another place is Yufuin. Hell Tour and Yufuin. They say it is famous in Korea.
Technically, it is possible, given our experience with the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge, the Seto Ohashi Bridge, and the Seikan Tunnel. Secondly, regarding the construction period, given the current technological capabilities of Japan and Korea, it would take 10 years. The cost would be 10 trillion yen. The route currently being considered by engineers is from Karatsu to Iki, Tsushima, Geoje Island, and Busan. The total length is 270 km, with the core section being 235 km, and the underground distance being 150 km. The most difficult section is from Tsushima to Geoje Island, which is the deepest and has the fastest currents. If we can successfully overcome this, a Japan-Korea tunnel is technically possible. Japan will cover the 10 trillion yen cost up to Tsushima.
The cost from Tsushima to Geoje Island will be split evenly. Half and half. From Geoje Island to Busan, Korea will pay. That would mean Japan would cover 70% of the cost. This would be entirely acceptable to Korea. Six hundred meters of tunnel has already been dug in Karatsu. All surveys have been completed. All that remains is for the government to take up our accumulated technology and concrete plans and give the go-ahead. As you know, past prime ministers and presidents have mentioned the idea. On the Korean side, President Roh Tae-woo mentioned the Japan-Korea tunnel in his parliamentary speech during his visit to Japan. President Kim Dae-jung also said that the Japan-Korea tunnel was an interesting project, stating that if Japan and Korea were connected, it would connect all the way to Europe through Siberia. President Roh Moo-hyun also proposed the idea at the Japan-Korea summit meeting in February 2003.
To conclude, if a summit meeting between the two countries can be held and an agreement like the Canterbury Agreement between Mitterrand and Thatcher can be reached by 2020, that is, if Japan supports the Pyeongchang Olympics and South Korea supports the Tokyo Olympics, and if a positive atmosphere is created between Japan and South Korea after the Olympics, just like the positive atmosphere created between Japan and South Korea during the World Cup, then an agreement between the president and prime minister, like the Canterbury Agreement, whether it be a Tokyo Agreement or a Seoul Agreement, could be realized between 2020 and 2021, and it would not be a dream.
As I mentioned earlier, the tunnel itself can be completed in as little as 10 years. The Linear Shinkansen will reach Nagoya by 2027, and Osaka in four or five years, in one hour. To be precise, 67 minutes. It will then go on to Hiroshima, and finally Karatsu. I think it will take a little time. If the Linear Shinkansen can be realized at a considerable speed like the current Shinkansen, I expect it will reach Fukuoka around 2040.
Between 2020 and 2030, an undersea tunnel between Japan and South Korea will be completed, and a linear shinkansen line will run from Busan to Seoul. Japan will be supporting this. The most optimistic prediction is that in 2040, the 500-kilometer linear shinkansen will take you from Seoul to Tokyo in just four hours. No need to fly, no need to go to Incheon or Gimpo airports, no waiting time. You'll be able to get to Seoul while napping for four hours. It will probably take until at least 2040. Let's start exercising tomorrow. If everyone here takes care of their health and lives another 25 years, the dream of a Japan-Korea tunnel and a linear shinkansen line from Seoul to Tokyo may become a reality. I would like to conclude my lecture by sharing my dream of experiencing the Japan-Korea tunnel and a tour of Seoul and Tokyo with my black eyes.
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Excerpts from the lectures can be downloaded as PDFs.
