TOKYO: A suprapartisan group of Japanese lawmakers to promote their country’s ties with South Korea formally decided on Monday to appoint former Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide as its new head.

The Japan-Korea Parliamentarians’ Union made the decision at a general meeting.

“We’ll play our part as a parliamentary group to greatly enhance the Japan-South Korea relationship,” said Suga, a lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The two neighboring Asian nations are ramping up efforts to improve their ties. As part of the move, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol visited Japan this month.

“We’d like to work with the South Korean side to arrange a visit of group representatives to South Korea as soon as possible,” former internal affairs minister Ryota Takeda of the LDP, a senior member of the lawmaker group, told reporters.

JIJI Press