Japan won't adjust its export control measures against South Korea but is considering how it will respond a day after Seoul filed a complaint over the measures at the World Trade Organization, the country's newly appointed trade minister said Thursday.
"We are going to address the issue appropriately, including whether to respond (to a request for bilateral consultation) or not," Isshu Sugawara, 57, told a group of reporters.
Sugawara stepped into a ministerial role for the first time amid Japan's worsening relations with its neighbor, aggravated by the stricter export controls rolled out this summer. He also faces the daunting task of steering Japan in an environment where distrust toward the existing system of global free trade is growing.