LONDON -- Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong held talks in London on Wednesday, but failed to get closer on issues related to lawsuits over former so-called comfort women and former requisitioned Korean workers.
It was the first face-to-face talks between the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea in about 15 months. Both Motegi and Chung are visiting Britian to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of the Group of Seven major countries.
During their about 20-minute talks, Motegi strongly requested the South Korean side to take appropriate measures in response to the ruling made by the Seoul Central District Court in January, ordering the Japanese government to pay compensation to former comfort women.
Japan has criticized January's court decision as running counter to sovereign immunity, a principle of international law that holds that a state is immune from the jurisdiction of foreign courts.
Motegi further said the sale of local assets held by Japanese companies, which was ordered by courts in South Korea to compensate former wartime requisitioned Korean workers, "must be avoided by all means." Motegi thereby reiterated Japan's request that South Korea find an acceptable solution to the issue.
The two ministers also discussed the Japanese government's policy of releasing into the sea treated radioactive water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Motegi expressed his concern over the way the South Korean government, which has criticized the planned release, is disseminating relevant information.
Regarding the litigation related to former comfort women and former requisitioned workers, Chung stressed that "the historical issues cannot be resolved without Japan's correct recognition of history," according to an announcement made by South Korea's Foreign Ministry.
As to the planned release of treated radioactive water, Chung "conveyed his opposition and expressed deep concerns" over it to Motegi, on the grounds that "The decision was made without sufficient prior consultations with neighboring countries."
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