Foreign Minister Taro Kono asked the South Korean government on Wednesday to remain committed to previous agreements in the wake of South Korea's Supreme Court ordering Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to compensate former requisitioned workers during World War II.
In telephone talks with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung Wha, Kono pressed the South Korean government to ensure that Japanese nationals and corporations suffer no ill effects from the court's ruling.
The phone conference between the two ministers, which the Japanese government requested in response to the ruling the previous day, started at 9:15 a.m. and lasted about 20 minutes.
During the talks, Kono reiterated Japan's position that the issue of compensating former requisitioned workers was "completely and ultimately resolved" under the 1965 agreement on the settlement of problems concerning property and claims and on economic cooperation. He also said Tokyo "viewed the matter as extremely grave because the legal foundation of the two countries has been fundamentally damaged." Kang responded by saying the Korean government was discussing how to deal with the matter.
Seoul is expected to decide its position after consulting relevant ministries and experts on the issue.
At a press conference after the phone talks, Kono said he expected the South Korean government "to promptly take a firm position [on the issue]."
"They said they were considering how to deal with the issue, so I'd like to wait [for a response]," he said.
Fourteen similar cases regarding former requisitioned workers are currently pending in South Korea, and the latest court ruling may trigger a flood of orders for Japanese firms to pay compensation. Tokyo plans to urge Seoul to take measures to prevent the latest case from becoming a judicial precedent.
For now, the Japanese government will wait and see how the situation develops, while also examining the possibility of convening an arbitration committee or filing a complaint with the International Court of Justice in the event that the South Korean government fails to take necessary actions.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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