Japan to pursue diplomacy with neighbors

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated Monday his determination to make changes in the constitution and the social security system in line with the needs of the country’s aging population, local media reported Monday.

"I will promote social security and other bold reforms to reshape our country," Kyodo news quoted Abe as saying.

"With the start of the new era Reiwa, the approaching Olympics and Paralympics and an uplifting feeling they've brought, it is time for action," Abe said during his policy speech to mark the start of the parliamentary session.

Abe underlined that Japan will maintain diplomatic channels in its bilateral relations with its neighbors, Kyodo reported.

The Japanese premier highlighted the necessity to deal with tense relations with South Korea over “the issue of compensation for wartime labor”.

The statement of Abe came after a South Korean court order in October 2018 directed Japanese firms to pay compensation to wartime forced labor victims.

Japan has refused to abide by the court order, saying the issue of compensation was closed, when the two countries signed a pact in 1965.

Japan occupied the Korean peninsula in 1910 and held it until 1945. Tokyo was accused of exploiting Korean women in military camps, besides forcing men to do hard labor.

The surviving victims and kin of those deceased had sued Japanese firms working in South Korea, demanding compensation. A Korean court ruled in their favor and asked Japan to pay compensation.

He also reaffirmed his determination to hold talks “face-to-face” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ‘without preconditions’ to find a solution to the abduction of 17 Japanese nations by Pyongyang, according to Kyodo.

Abe also expressed his wish to "mature Japan-China relations for a new era" in advance of Chinese President Xi Jinping's official visit to Japan which is planned for spring of 2020.