Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will become the next head of a cross-party group of lawmakers promoting friendly ties between Japan and South Korea, the group decided Friday.
The appointment of a former premier is aimed at facilitating lawmaker-level exchanges at a time when Tokyo and Seoul are stepping up efforts to resolve disputes over wartime labor by Koreans that have strained ties. Suga will replace former Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga.
"South Korea is an extremely important neighbor in economic and security terms," Suga said in a meeting of the group in Tokyo, vowing to work to "improve friendly relations between both countries."
Nukaga held the post for about 10 years. Suga, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, will be the first former prime minister to take the position since Yoshiro Mori held it between 2001 and 2010. His appointment could be formally approved as early as later this month.
Suga, who was prime minister from 2020 to 2021 after serving as chief Cabinet secretary for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2012, was approached for the positon due to his involvement in the negotiations leading to the 2015 agreement with South Korea to resolve the issue of "comfort women" procured for Japanese wartime military brothels.
Speaking at a press conference, Keiichi Ishii, secretary general of the LDP's junior coalition partner Komeito and deputy chair of the cross-party group, hailed Suga's appointment as "one that will be seen by South Korea as an indication of the importance Japan places on our bilateral ties."
Tokyo's disagreements over wartime compensation and other long-standing issues with South Korea's previous administration caused ties to sink to their lowest point in years.
But President Yoon Suk Yeol has repeatedly expressed his readiness to improve relations since taking office last year. He said in a speech Wednesday that Japan had transformed from a "militaristic aggressor" to a "partner that shares the same universal values" as South Korea.
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