Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and new South Korean President Park Geun Hye agreed Monday that the new governments in both countries should closely cooperate in a future-oriented manner, Aso told reporters.
In a meeting in Seoul, Park also indicated to the former prime minister the importance of taking account of historical perceptions in future-oriented cooperation, a Foreign Ministry source from Tokyo said.
Park's remarks apparently reflect South Korea's desire for forward-looking responses from Japan on a territorial row and on the issue of Korean females forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military during the war, both regarded by Seoul as "history issues."