June 14 (UPI) -- Japan's prime minister may have snubbed South Korean President Moon Jae-in and rejected an invitation to a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Cornwall, according to Japanese press reports.<\/p>\n
Yoshihide Suga said Moon failed to keep promises between the two countries, and that the conditions were \"not suitable\" for an important one-on-one meeting with the South Korean leader, the Nikkei and other Japanese news services reported Monday.<\/p>\n
Moon took part in the expanded G7 summit as a guest, with other major democracies, including Australia, India and South Africa. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the gathering virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in his country.<\/p>\n
Suga reportedly blamed Seoul for frosty ties between the two countries.<\/p>\n
\"Japan-Korea relations are difficult because of the maneuvers of the South Korean side,\" Suga said. \"South Korea must provide a direction\" for a resolution.<\/p>\n
Relations between the two countries have declined amid demands from South Korean activists representing former \"comfort women\" and forced wartime laborers. Seoul has generally supported their cause.<\/p>\n
Activists also have said Tokyo and Japanese firms should directly pay compensation to victims. Japan has said a 1965 treaty resolved all past issues that occurred during colonization.<\/p>\n
Suga downplayed brief exchanges of greetings with Moon at G7.<\/p>\n
Moon \"came to say hello, so I greeted him not to be rude,\" Suga reportedly said. Moon also initiated contact with Suga a second time at a beach barbecue for world leaders, the Japanese prime minister said.<\/p>\n
Ahead of G7, reports suggested that Suga, Moon and U.S. President Joe Biden might meet for a trilateral summit. The event never took place.<\/p>\n
Lee Young-chae, a professor at Keisen University in Japan, said in an interview with TBS' Kim Eo-jun's News Factory in Korea that Suga's priority at the G7 was to garner widespread support for the Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\n
The G7 summit communiqu stated support for \"the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in a safe and secure manner as a symbol of global unity in overcoming COVID-19.\"<\/p>\n
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\nJapan rejected summit with South Korea at G7, citing 'unsuitable conditions" - UPI News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"