Editor's note: With tensions rising between Japan and the Republic of Korea, the two countries' foreign ministers held a bilateral meeting on Thursday, and took part in a trilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on Friday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. Xiakedao, a WeChat account owned by People's Daily Overseas Edition, comments:

Apparently, the two meetings have not helped de-escalate the situation between the two neighbors, as the Japanese government announced on Friday it has decided to remove the ROK from its "white list", which grants countries on the list simplified trade procedures with Japan. The decision will come into effect on Aug 28.

Japan stopped exports of three kinds of important materials used for semiconductors and displays to the ROK on July 4, saying it was concerned some ROK companies were exporting the products to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which was a threat to Japan's national security. The ROK then launched diplomatic protests, saying the export controls violated free trade principles, and it vowed to sue Japan through the World Trade Organization framework.

In fact, Tokyo is using the issue to take revenge for the ROK claiming compensation for Korean laborers who were forced to work for Japanese enterprises during Japan's war of aggression, in the hope that Seoul will compromise on the historical issues.

Japan thought the issue of forced labor had been settled when they established diplomatic relations in 1965. Likewise, the issue of "comfort women", women forced to be sex slaves of the Imperial Japanese Army, is another flash point, as Tokyo thinks the problem has been settled once for all, while Seoul does not.

It is worrisome that Japan has, for the first time, learned to transplant the United States' export control tactics to resolve its historical disputes with its neighbor, forcing the ROK to swallow its political appeals.

Worse, Tokyo feels no qualms about pouring dirty water on Pyongyang without providing any concrete evidence to justify its claims.

It has been a consensus of all stakeholders in the region, including Tokyo, that the historical disputes revolving around the war crimes that Japan committed against its neighbors in the late 19th and first half of 20th century should be settled through political means, and that's how they have been dealing with the problems for decades, so that historical problems have not affected economic and trade cooperation in the region. Otherwise, East Asia and Southeast Asia would not have been able to develop into powerhouses of the world economy.

That Japan insists on using trade and economic measures to resolve historical disputes will only make the situation more complicated. Historical issues will and should not be resolved this way, as the formerly stable economic and trade ties will be damaged at the same time, causing spillover effects far beyond the region.