TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister MOTEGI Toshimitsu late Friday protested against a South Korean court ruling ordering Tokyo to pay compensation to former comfort women.

The Jan. 8 ruling by Seoul Central District Court is “extremely regrettable and utterly unacceptable,” Motegi said in a statement after the court decision took effect.

He said the ruling runs counter to international law and an agreement between Japan and South Korea, urging Seoul to correct the violations.

The Seoul court ordered the Japanese government to pay 100 million won to each of 12 former South Korean comfort women, who were forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II, as demanded.

Tokyo claims that the issue of comfort women has already been resolved. It also says the order violates sovereign immunity under international law, a principle exempting a state from the jurisdiction of foreign courts.

JIJI Press