Japanese Foreign Ministry Director to Visit Korea on 28th... Seeking Measures to Improve Korea-Japan Relations

Shigeki Takizaki, Director-General for Asia and Oceania at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is entering the building on October 16 last year to attend the "Korea-Japan Foreign Ministry Director-General Level Meeting" held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] A director-general of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will visit South Korea to break the chill in Korea-Japan relations.

According to NHK's report on the 27th, Shigeki Takizaki, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is scheduled to visit South Korea from the 28th to the 30th. He is expected to seek measures to improve the frozen Korea-Japan relations due to issues such as the compensation lawsuit for victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.

During his visit, Director-General Takizaki is reported to hold talks with Kim Jeonghan, Director-General of the Asia-Pacific Bureau of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This visit is drawing attention as it takes place ahead of the Korea-China-Japan summit to be held in Seoul this year.

The Japanese government claims that the South Korean Supreme Court's October 2018 ruling ordering compensation payments to forced labor victims violates international law and conflicts with the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement signed in 1965.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit, after Nippon Steel, the defendant company, refused to comply with the ruling following the Japanese government's policy, have applied to the court to seize shares of PNR, an unlisted joint venture in South Korea between Nippon Steel and POSCO, to secure compensation claims and are proceeding with the process of converting them into cash.

The Japanese government warns that if the seized assets are liquidated and Japanese companies suffer actual damages, it will lead to a very serious situation in Korea-Japan relations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.