Japan Govt Welcomes Yoon's Speech Calling Japan "Partner"

Tokyo, March 1 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government appeared to welcome South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's speech on Wednesday, in which he called Japan a "partner" of his country.

Japan is "a partner that shares the same universal values with us," Yoon said in his speech at a ceremony marking the 104th anniversary of the March 1 Korean independence movement against Japan.

"We'll accept (Yoon's speech) positively," a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

The Japanese government plans to closely monitor the Yoon administration's moves to settle the issue of Koreans conscripted to work for Japanese companies during World War II.

At a press conference in Tokyo the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, "South Korea is an important neighbor that we should cooperate with on global issues."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]