Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met with Kim Kyou-hyun, South Korea's first vice minister of foreign affairs, on Thursday as the two countries struggle to overcome territorial and historical disputes that are damaging bilateral ties.
"South Korea is an important partner and a neighbor that shares our fundamental sense of values and interests. I hope to develop bilateral relations through communications," Kishida told Kim at the Foreign Ministry.
"There are difficulties lying between South Korea and Japan, but if we cooperate together with the attitude of climbing to higher ground and looking from a far distance, the future of bilateral relations will be opened," Kim told Kishida.