Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged South Korea on Tuesday to uphold a 1965 agreement to settle property claims stemming from wartime grievances. He said mutual trust is at stake at a time of high tensions.
Speaking at a news conference in Hiroshima, Abe said South Korea has "unilaterally" breached the accord that settled the issue of compensation for wartime laborers during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
"When we think about the current Japan-South Korea relationship, the biggest issue we have is of trust, or whether promises made between states are kept," Abe said.