Korea-Japan Congressional Federation meets Prime Minister Ishiba...Sado Mine Remarks on Memorial Ceremony

A group of presidents of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, who are visiting Japan, met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the prime minister's residence in Tokyo today.

Joo Ho-young, chairman of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary Federation, said Prime Minister Ishiba said there are many difficult issues about Korea-Japan relations due to differences in thoughts and backgrounds, but we must develop for the future.

There was also a mention of the Sado mine, but he declined to say that he wanted to refrain from talking in detail about it.

Chairman Joo met with Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, yesterday and expressed regret over the planned memorial service for the Sado mine, saying, "The promise made when Korea agreed to register its heritage has not been fulfilled."

In a meeting with Fukushiro Nukaga, chairman of the House of Representatives, he also said that he felt somewhat heavy because of the strong public criticism of the memorial service in Korea.