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Japan seeks arbitration against South Korea over wartime forced labourers
- Relations between the two US allies have been increasingly strained after South Korea’s top court last year ordered a Japanese steelmaker to compensate wartime victims
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Japan on Monday said it wants to bring a bitter dispute with South Korea over compensation for wartime labourers to a panel for arbitration.
Relations between the two United States allies have been increasingly strained, after South Korea’s top court last year ordered a Japanese steelmaker to pay compensation to victims of a wartime policy of forced labour.
The ruling drew the ire of Tokyo, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe describing the decision as “impossible”.
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On Monday, Japan said it now wants the issue referred to an arbitration panel, under the terms of an agreement signed by the two countries in 1965.
“The Japanese government has communicated to the South Korean side that we will refer the matter to arbitration,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
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“The South Korean government has an obligation under the Agreement on the Settlement of Problems, and the Japanese government strongly demands South Korea accept arbitration,” it said.
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