Japan hopeful of new era in ties with S. Korea: top diplomat

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak Thursday that Tokyo hopes to use this
historically-important year to turn the tide in the neighboring countries'
often-prickly relations, Lee's office said.

In his half-hour meeting with Lee in Seoul, Okada said, "This year is a sensitive
year to mark the centenary of Japan's annexation of Korea," according to Cheong
Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyoo.
The minister, on his first trip since becoming Tokyo's top diplomat after a rare
change of government in Japan last year, was quoted as saying that Prime Minister
Hatoyama wants to make this year a starting point for "future-oriented" bilateral
ties.
Okada also reiterated Tokyo's hope for a closer partnership with South Korea in
resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis and dealing with global challenges
including the Afghan issue.
The South Korean leader responded positively.
"The two nations expect a good opportunity this year to wisely move toward the
future," Lee said.
Lee added it is time for leaders of the two countries to act in order to open a
new chapter in bilateral relations, as the current generation on both sides have
a better understanding of each other.
South Korea and Japan have frequently been locked in historical and territorial
disputes, a legacy of Japan's 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
Earlier in the day, Okada reaffirmed Tokyo's apology for its past. "The South
Korean people were deprived of their country and their ethnic pride was deeply
hurt. We must never forget the feelings of the victims," he told reporters after
meeting with his South Korean counterpart Yu Myung-hwan.
He said the Hatoyama administration respects a 1995 statement by then Prime
Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who offered an apology for Japan's wartime
atrocities.
Still, many South Koreans believe Japan has yet to make a sincere apology for its
past wrongdoings and have been upset by some Japanese officials' attempts to
glorify the country's past.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)

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