Tokyo, July 18: Japan was considering to move the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against South Korea over a dispute of forced labour during World War II, as a deadline to seek a third-party mediation passed on Thursday, NHK public broadcaster reported.
Last year, a Supreme Court of Seoul had ordered two Tokyo’s firms to compensate the wartime labourers in a verdict that Japan believed breached international law. Tokyo believes the matter of compensation has been settled under a treaty established in 1965.
Without any mutually acceptable deal, Japan has called for third-nation arbitration, which South Korea has dismissed. Japan’s deputy chief cabinet secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura stated Thursday’s midnight is the deadline for reaching those arrangements, according to Reuters news reports.
Addressing a daily media briefing, Nishimura said Tokyo had received no words over Seoul’s decision, adding the government would continue to urge “strongly” S Korea to accept the mediation procedure.
Once the deadline is passed, it would enable Japan to continuously push S Korea for proposals to put an end to the dispute while also preparing for counter-measures, including considering to move ICJ.
In a different report, the Japanese government sources were quoted by Kyodo News as saying Tokyo would dismiss Seoul’s request for holding another round of working-level talks to discuss the Japan export curbs.