By Sanxuan

Facing the provocation of Takahashi Sanae, Lee Jae-myung could no longer忍耐 and finally retaliated.

This week, the South Korean military held a drill near Dokdo, which is the second time since Lee Jae-myung took office that the South Korean military conducted exercises on the disputed island between Japan and South Korea. It's clear from the screen that there is a strong show of force.

South Korean military drills near Dokdo

The Japanese government was obviously furious, expressing strong protest to South Korea through diplomatic channels. But while it was angry, the actual control over Dokdo lies in South Korea's hands, and the South Korean military can conduct drills whenever they want. Even if Japan is unwilling, they can only rage helplessly.

In fact, this is not entirely South Korea's fault. If it weren't for Takahashi Sanae's constant provocations, openly claiming that "Takeshima is Japan's inherent territory" and expanding the territorial map in the exhibition hall, Lee Jae-myung would not have left her no dignity at all.

As everyone knows, Lee Jae-myung is a "good guy" in the field of diplomacy, mainly avoiding offending anyone, trying to maintain good relations with China, the United States, and Japan, at least not affecting normal cooperation and exchanges between countries.

Lee Jae-myung and Takahashi Sanae had a friendly interaction early on. Although one is left-wing and the other is far-right, their political stances were very different, but they deliberately avoided those unpleasant topics, focusing more on cooperation rather than conflicts.

Superficially united, but internally divided

During the APEC summit, both sides also held friendly meetings. At other international events where they both attended, they would greet each other warmly. Especially Takahashi Sanae, every time she arrived at a multilateral diplomatic event, she seemed to change, hiding her harsh and dark face, and appearing to be good with everyone.

On the other hand, South Korea and Japan agreed to resume shuttle diplomacy. It is said that they originally had an agreement to hold a meeting in Nara City, Takahashi Sanae's hometown next year.

Lee Jae-myung is not the type to actively provoke trouble. Even compared to Yoon Suk-yeol, who is pro-Japanese, his statements on the Dokdo issue can be considered restrained, trying to avoid conflicts with Takahashi Sanae, so as not to make the already fragile US-Japan-South Korea tripartite relationship worse.

Certainly, the Lee Jae-myung government firmly reasserted South Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo, but he also told those around him not to overreact to related statements outside the country.

Dokdo

But the problem is that these remarks did not come from a third party, but from the Japanese government, and most of them came directly from Takahashi Sanae herself.

In fact, Takahashi's controversial remarks on Dokdo are not only about inciting nationalist sentiments but also relate to political balance. In Japan, the area that claims jurisdiction over Dokdo is Shimane Prefecture. Because of the population decrease, the Watanabe Party has demanded cutting the number of seats in the House of Representatives, and "layoffs" may hit the Shimane Prefecture district.

To comfort Shimane Prefecture, Takahashi Sanae tried to use this method to give the prefecture some say in national affairs, preventing it from being marginalized.

However, her main purpose was to express a tough stance and consolidate her base. After all, she doesn't have any outstanding achievements in economic and people's livelihood fields; she can only cover up public opinion by creating external conflicts.

Lawless

This reveals her lack of leadership. A good national leader is not judged by how hard he is towards other countries, but whether he can make the most beneficial decision for the country according to the situation.

Evidently, Takahashi Sanae does not have this ability. She has been in power for only two months, and because of her careless mouth, she has already offended four neighboring countries: China, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea. Looking around the world, it's rare to find a leader who can create such a bad situation.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7588102136715362854/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.