The Daily Manila Shimbun

 

More Japan officials see difficulty in Abe’s S. Korea visit

December 30, 2017



Tokyo- An increasing number of Japanese government officials believe that it will be difficult for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visit South Korea on the sidelines of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February, informed sources said Friday.

Such views became more common after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement on Thursday that it is difficult to settle the issue of so-called comfort women under the bilateral agreement reached between Tokyo and Seoul in 2015.

Comfort women refers to those who were force into prostitution for Japanese troops during wartime and the deal was made for surviving former comfort women in South Korea.

Many Japanese government officials think that Abe can hardly accept a request from Moon to visit South Korea for the Olympic Games, due to Moon's critical stance toward the bilateral accord, the sources said.

After Moon released the statement, a source close to Abe said "it is now impossible for the prime minister to visit South Korea."

A Japanese Foreign Ministry official said that Moon apparently issued the statement as he believed that Abe was unlikely to visit South Korea, adding "An Abe visit to South Korea appears difficult."

Still, Abe is expected to make a decision carefully on whether to accept the request from Moon after considering the effect on various issues, including efforts to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile development and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the sources said.

Meanwhile, some Japanese government officials said Japan should not let its bilateral relationship with South Korea deteriorate at a time when the situation over North Korean issues getting tenser.

One official is seeking a calm response, saying "sports and politics are different issues." Jiji Press