Japanese opposition leader vows efforts for better Seoul-Tokyo ties

SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- A Japanese opposition leader vowed Monday to make efforts to develop the Seoul-Tokyo relationship into a future-oriented one in a landmark year, despite many challenges such as tension over their shared history.

Katsuya Okada, leader of Japan's opposition Democratic Party, made the remarks in his meeting in Seoul with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. Okada arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a three-day trip, his first visit to Seoul in this capacity.

Seoul and Tokyo are preparing to celebrate Aug. 15, which marks the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule and the end of World War II. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic ties.

"(South Korean) President Park Geun-hye told me that the two neighbors need to make efforts to improve the frayed relations to make 2015 the first year of better ties. I was encouraged by the remarks," Okada said at the start of the meeting. Earlier in the day, he met with Park at Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office.

"Despite many difficulties facing the two nations, I'll do my best to help the bilateral relationship develop into a future-oriented one," he added.

The two neighbors are seeking to mend their frayed relations in the landmark year, but little progress has been made due mainly to Japan's reluctance to sincerely apologize for its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to issue a statement on Aug. 15 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, which analysts say is not likely to contain Japan's apology for the issue of sex slaves.

Seoul has urged Abe to uphold previous administrations' statements of apology for Japan's wartime history -- the 1993 Kono and 1995 Murayama statements -- in his speech next week.

South Korea demands that Japan show sincerity by settling the sex slave issue "in a way that is agreeable to the living victims," including through a sincere apology and compensation. Japan insists the issue was settled under the normalization treaty of 1965.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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