Regime Change and Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan Relations: Leadership and the International Environment

This paper aims to examine the impact of the regime changes in Korea and the United States on Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan relations. Chapter 2 introduces research that emphasizes politicians’ leadership and threat perception as key variables in international relations and foreign policy decisions. Chapter 3 examines the ups and downs of Korea-US-Japan cooperation since the end of the Cold War in the context of the conflict structure of Korea-Japan relations, and analyzes the driving factors of Korea-US-Japan cooperation that made great progress during the Biden administration in terms of US foreign strategy, Korea’s leadership factors, and the international environment. Chapter 4 examines the impact that the regime changes in the United States and Korea may have on Korea-Japan relations and Korea-US-Japan cooperation. Chapter 5 examines the theoretical implications of the analysis in the main text, and concludes with policy suggestions that it is necessary to overcome the polarized pro-Japanese and anti-Japanese policies toward Japan and to build a foundation for sustainable Korea-Japan relations with the launch of the new government. Unlike the general view that Korea's policy toward Japan is determined by the ideological inclination (progressiveconservative) of the government, this paper emphasizes that the leadership factor due to the change of government, the deepening of the sense of crisis due to the occurrence of an international crisis, and the convergence of threat perception have a decisive impact on Korea-Japan relations and Korea- US-Japan cooperation. The role of the United States is seen as dual in that Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan cooperation are promoted or relaxed depending on the degree of the US government's emphasis on the alliance or its involvement in the region.