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Bloomberg
Japan will consider countermeasures to protect Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. assets from seizure in South Korea sought in response to a wartime forced-labour complaint, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
It’s “very regrettable that former workers from the Korean Peninsula are taking action for seizing the assets,†Abe told national broadcaster NHK’s “Sunday Debate†programme, adding that he has “requested relevant departments to study specific measures based on international law.â€
A 1965 treaty between the countries resolved all matters regarding compensation claims, Abe said on Sunday. Still, South Korea has argued that Japan hasn’t atoned enough for its 1910-45 colonisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Lawyers representing South Koreans who were forced into labour applied to seize Nippon Steel’s local assets, the Associated Press reported. A court in the city of Pohang may decidewhether to accept the request to seize the 2.34 million shares Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal holds in its JV with South Korean steelmaker Posco.