The speaker of South Korea’s parliament said he had no intention to apologize for his comments about Japan’s emperor, suggesting the issue could continue to stoke tensions between the neighbors.
National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang said there was no reason to show contrition for calling on Emperor Akihito to personally apologize to women forced to work in colonial-era Japanese military brothels, the Yonhap News Agency reported. Moon was responding to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who called the comments “extremely inappropriate” as his government demanded an apology and retraction.
