Critics point out that the appointments of individuals associated with the New Right to key historical posts align with some conservatives’ efforts to set aside long-standing historical disputes, which have been obstacles to improving relations with Japan.

Washington has been pushing for the two neighbours to move past their resentments and form a trilateral defence alliance.

“In the face of threats from the North, history revisionists are exploiting the current security environment, which favours stronger defence cooperation with Japan, to push their narratives,” Yang Kee-ho, a Japanese studies professor at Sungkonghoe University, told This Week in Asia.