Japan and South Korea are used to referring to each other as the "nearest but most distant country" due to past troubles in their relationship.
But these days they are reportedly increasingly becoming nearest and dearest with the rapid expansion of air links in the runup to the 2002 World Cup soccer finals they will cohost.
To meet surging demand, flights linking Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture and Kansai International Airport near Osaka with South Korean airports have steadily increased. Japanese airports with regular flights departing for Seoul now number 21.