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Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono

Japan’s top diplomat said the country will quickly impose countermeasures if Japanese companies suffer any actual damage from the compensation that South Korean courts have awarded Koreans drafted for forced labor under Japan’s colonial occupation, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

“The legal foundation for Japan-South Korea relations is on the verge of being damaged. This is an issue that the South Korean government needs to deal with responsibly,” said Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono during an interview with NHK on May 5.

“If Japanese companies suffer any real harm because of the South Korean government’s action, Japan will swiftly take the necessary measures,” said Kono, who was on a visit to Ethiopia at the time.

On May 1, the team of attorneys representing victims of forced labor petitioned a court to issue an order to liquidate stock held by the accused companies, one being Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal and the other being Nachi-Fujikoshi. The plaintiffs want these companies’ stock, which has already been put under attachment, to be converted to cash so that they can receive the damages awarded by South Korea’s Supreme Court.

The Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have discussed various kinds of retaliation, including limiting bank remittances and the issuance of visas to South Korean citizens and companies.

Kono also criticized South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha for remarks she made on May 2 implying that the compensation procedure is under the jurisdiction of the judicial branch and that the executive branch should not intervene. “I’m not talking about [the executive branch] intervening in the judicial branch. South Korea needs to deal with this issue properly,” Kono said.

Kono didn’t specify when the Japanese government would move forward with its retaliation. The steps required to sell the stock and convert it to cash are expected to take about three months. The Japanese press predicts that Japanese retaliation would take place after the liquidation of the stock is complete.

By Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

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