JAPAN REMOVES KOREA FROM WHITELIST

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Tokyo on Friday elected to remove South Korea from its so-called whitelist of preferred trading partners, the latest escalation of a trade row stemming from disagreements over colonial-era issues. The move means nearly all Japanese exporters will soon need to secure individual permits for peninsula-bound shipments, potentially delaying or disrupting nearly all exports to South Korea.

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​At this morning's meeting presided by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Japanese cabinet voted to remove South Korea from its "whitelist" and strip Seoul of its preferential export status. After the meeting was over, Chief Cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshige Seko held press briefings to unveil the details of the government's decision. As the revision was approved at the cabinet meeting, the bill will be signed by the oversight minister, co-signed by Prime Minister Abe, then proclaimed by the Japanese emperor. Minister Seko said, the new law will go into effect on August 28th, after all the necessary steps are completed. Around a thousand items exported to Korea will have to be approved individually and the Japanese government will have the discretionary power to arbitrarily control the export review period. There were cautious projections that Tokyo wouldn't present the agenda at the cabinet meeting if Washington strongly advised against the move, but the Japanese government went ahead with it. It seems withdrawing the scheduled agenda just because the U.S. proposed a mediation plan would have placed a great political burden on Abe both domestically and internationally. In fact, the PM did say at the general assembly of the Liberal Democratic Party on the first day of the extraordinary parliamentary session, that he wanted to protect national interests and carry out constitutional amendment amidst the serious international situation.