Your Monday Briefing: Kishida Visits Seoul

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is in South Korea today, where he met with President Yoon Suk Yeol in an effort to foster a nascent détente. Yesterday, in Seoul, the two leaders agreed to press ahead with joint efforts to improve bilateral relations – although Kishida did not apologize for Japan’s colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century.

Kishida did no more than say that Japan stands by its past statements, while some have previously expressed regret and apologized. He said his “heart hurts” when he thinks of the suffering of Koreans, but his words fell short of the clear and direct apology many South Koreans, including the head of the main opposition party, want.

Yoon said he would not continue to apologize, despite criticism from some Koreans: “This is not something that can be unilaterally prosecuted; it should come from the sincerity of the other party.” However, Yoon urged his nation to focus on the immediate challenges from North Korea and China.

Context: Kishida’s two-day trip follows Yoon’s visit to Tokyo in March. This means shuttle diplomacy is back on track after regular exchanges between the heads of state ended in 2011 over historical differences.

The US is preparing to lift emergency health rules during the pandemic that have prevented hundreds of thousands of people from entering the country. This has fueled people on the border with Mexico – and political tensions.

The U.S. expects about 13,000 immigrants a day starting Friday, when the measure expires. That’s up from about 6,000 migrants on a typical day. Three cities in Texas declared a state of emergency, and President Biden recently ordered 1,500 troops to the border.

More people are coming from countries far away from economic or political turmoil – like Venezuela, China, India and Russia. In the US, the debate over the broken immigration system is still polarized and heated, posing serious political risks as the 2024 campaign begins.

Context: The order, called Title 42, allows the US government to quickly deport citizens of several countries back to Mexico.

Asylum: Tough new rules that turn away asylum seekers who do not seek protection elsewhere will come into force on Thursday.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is caught in a political firestorm amid reports of China’s efforts to interfere in the election. Sim, Vancouver’s first mayor of Chinese descent, said his victory was hard-won and suggested he was targeted because of his ethnic background.

The debate gained steam in February when the Globe and Mail newspaper said a classified intelligence report showed China was trying to rig Canadian elections — including in Vancouver. The report has not been made public, but it is said that China is trying to ensure the victory of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in the two most recent federal elections and support for candidates of Chinese descent.

The former consul general of China in Vancouver is trying to get local Canadian politicians, according to the report. Sim’s rivals have also called for China’s meddling to be investigated. Sim rejected claims that Beijing meddled, and instead pointed to the tireless campaign and other attractive policies to explain the landslide victory. “If I were Caucasian, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he said.

Analysis: Canada’s former ambassador to China said Canada is seen by Beijing as a target for influence in part because Beijing is seeking to use Canada as leverage to pressure the US to tone down its opposition to China.

Sherpa guides left the industry of taking trekkers up Mount Everest and encouraged their children to pursue other careers. There are many reasons for the change: The job is dangerous, the pay is low and there is little job security.

“I don’t see the future,” Kami Rita Sherpa, the famous guide pictured above in blue, told her son.

Sudan’s war, sparked by two warring generals, has pushed more than 100,000 civilians across the border, and aid workers say 800,000 could be forced to flee in the coming months.

Thousands have fled to Egypt and Saudi Arabia and to safer cities in Sudan. For many runners, flight is nothing new. “It’s really, really sad about this, it’s not the first time these people have fled,” said Charlotte Hallqvist, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for South Sudan.

Sudan has more than a million refugees from countries that have been ravaged by civil war, such as Syria and South Sudan. There are also millions of displaced people who have fled the conflict in Sudan. Now, as the new fighting enters its fourth week, these people are on the move again, facing yet another wave of violence and trauma.

In the Darfur region of Sudan, more than three million were driven from their homes during the civil war in the early 2000s. Just a week before the latest violence broke out, local authorities have started planning the gradual voluntary return of refugee communities in Darfur, said Toby Harward, principal situation coordinator in Darfur for UNHCR. However, others are now fleeing the area. – Lynsey Chutel, Times writer in Johannesburg

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