THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 26, 2023 at 18:30 JST
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, left, with her South Korean counterpart, Park Jin, in Busan on Nov. 26 (Anri Takahashi)
BUSAN--Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa blasted a recent South Korean court ruling that ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation to former “comfort women” and called on her counterpart to take appropriate steps.
During a Nov. 26 meeting with Park Jin here, Kamikawa described the South Korean High Court ruling on Nov. 23 as “extremely regrettable.”
Park, according to a South Korean Foreign Ministry official, referred to a 2015 accord in which Tokyo and Seoul confirmed that the issue of women forced to provide sex to wartime Japanese soldiers was solved finally and irreversibly.
Park said the South Korean government “respects (the accord) as an official agreement.”
In a statement, Kamikawa previously said the high court ruling is a clear violation of international law and agreements between Japan and South Korea.
A district court had rejected the plaintiffs’ demand for compensation from Japan, citing the principle in international law of sovereign immunity, which means that a state cannot be tried in another country’s court.
Park indicated that the two governments will continue to discuss the issue with each other.
Turning to belligerent neighbor North Korea, Kamikawa and Park strongly condemned Pyongyang’s launch of a military reconnaissance satellite on Nov. 22, calling it a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The ministers confirmed that Japan and South Korea will work closely with each other as well as under a three-party framework including the United States.
According to bilateral diplomatic sources, Kamikawa also conveyed her support for Seoul’s bid to host a world expo in Busan in 2030.
The host city is scheduled to be decided at a general meeting of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) to be held in Paris on Nov. 28.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida informed South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol of his support for Busan at a summit held in New Delhi in September.
Kamikawa was visiting Busan to attend the first trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting among Japan, South Korea and China in four years.
(This article was written by Narumi Ota and Anri Takahashi.)
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