Abe expresses regret over S. Korea's move to seize Japanese firms' assets

Several South Koreans forced to work for Japanese companies without pay during World War 2 are taking steps to have those companies' assets in Korea seized as compensation.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed regret over their decision, and says his administration will take concrete measures to respond.Kim Mok-yeon reports. On a talk show that aired Sunday on Japanese broadcaster NHK,... Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed regret over steps taken by the South Korean victims of forced labor during World War 2 to seize the local assets of Japanese companies as compensation.South Korea's Supreme Court ruled late last year that four plaintiffs are entitled to around 87-thousand U.S. dollars each from Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation... for unpaid work they were forced to do.The court said no agreement with Japan has abrogated the rights of individuals to seek reparations.The plaintiffs have asked the government to seize Nippon Steel's shares of PNR, a joint venture with the Korean steelmaker Posco.The Supreme Court also made a similar ruling in a case involving Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The victims in the Mitsubishi case have also said that if Japan does not cooperate in the compensation order by March 1st, then they too will request that the firm's local assets be seized.March 1st is the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of Korea's provisional government.Japan has insisted that the rulings are not acceptable, claiming all issues of reparations for damages incurred during colonization were settled by the treaty Japan signed with South Korea in 1965.Prime Minister Abe said that the Japanese government is taking this issue seriously and that he has ordered related ministries to look into the situation and come up with countermeasures,... referring to what he believes is international law.Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.