ABSTRACT
By examining the concept of trust between state actors, this chapter explores how and why trust has not only remained low in Korea-Japan relations, but deteriorated further in recent years leading to increased tensions in Northeast Asia. It discusses Korea-Japan relations and reviews existing arguments for ongoing mistrust before articulating a two-level games approach to trust. The chapter suggests when and under what conditions interstate trust might be rebuilt. Generalized trust deals with dispositional traits at the individual level. The data from the Hankook Ilbo and Yomiuri Shimbun suggests that South Koreans generally express far more distrust toward the Japanese than the other way around toward Koreans had also significantly dropped. In a region already defined to some extent by distrust between the two largest actors—the United States and China—distrust between Korea and Japan only exacerbates regional tensions.
