＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Japan and South Korea have filed a lawsuit against South Korea’s import ban on marine products from eight eastern Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, at the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Japan won the first instance, but the ruling of the higher court on April 13, 2019, was a reversal victory for South Korea.
１．WTO Higher Trial Court’s Decision [Korea’s Reversal Victory
However, this is not a total defeat for Japan. The first instance court accepted all of Japan’s claims with regard to the following four items. However, the higher court upheld the first instance court’s decision on (1) and (2), but refused to recognize Japan’s claims on (3) and (4).
(1) Japanese food products are scientifically safe
(2) Korea is violating the WTO by failing to fulfill its obligation to inform the public when tightening regulatory measures.
(3) Korea’s import control measures are arbitrary and discriminatory against Japan
(4) Korea is excessively trade restrictive by requiring additional testing only in Japan.
２．Organizational Problems with the WTO
However, this decision is very strange. If Japan’s claims in the first part (1) and (2) are accepted, it is natural to conclude that Japan’s claims in (3) and (4) are also correct, and to deny only the second part makes no sense and is based on highly questionable grounds.
The WTO is supposed to be an organization whose purpose is “to eliminate various regulations and lower tariffs to the lowest possible level so that the world can engage in healthy trade activities and compete freely in the global marketplace,” and I believe that this ruling goes against that purpose.
The WTO, like other international organizations, has become a battleground for negotiations and struggles in which countries engage in shrewd tactics to obtain their national interests in world trade.
It is not so easy as to be able to “preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of peace-loving peoples,” as stated in the preamble of the Constitution of Japan.
Was there some kind of political backroom deal or lobbying from Korea to the members of the Superior Court of Appeal?
As a side note, the WTO’s DSB has a maximum of seven members (for a four-year term), but since President Trump has not approved the reappointment of a member who is “critical of protectionism” in the U.S., there are four vacancies, which means that the three members who are “tolerant of protectionism” made the decision this time. The question remains as to whether these three members were able to adequately discuss the issue, or whether the panel may have been dysfunctional.
３．Measures Japan should take in the future
Not only at the WTO but also at the ICJ (International Court of Justice), I think it is better to discard as an “illusion” the naive idea that “an international organization will make a fair judgment and recognize that Japan is right.
Japan also lost a lawsuit in 2014 in which Australia demanded to stop research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean because it was a violation of the treaty. This is what led to the announcement of withdrawal from the IWC in 2018.
Therefore, it would be better not to rely too much on international organizations such as the ICJ in the former wartime laborers lawsuit issue.
I think that Japan should switch to a strategy of slowly attacking the other party through “bilateral talks,” similar to the style of President Trump of the United States.