Historical issues continue to cast a shadow over relations between Tokyo and Seoul even as ties have improved greatly since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took power two years ago.
Yoon's focus on mending ties with Japan has seen relations recover from what officials and experts said was the worst since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1965.
"Under the leadership of (Japanese) Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Yoon, dialogue and cooperation are expanding strongly in various fields, both in quality and quantity," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference Thursday.