Most papers wrote that Foreign Minister Kono on Tuesday conveyed to the South Korean ambassador Tokyo’s apprehension about the Moon administration’s plan to construct a monument to the comfort women on the grounds of a national cemetery. The Japanese official stressed that the plan runs counter to the 2015 bilateral comfort women agreement, warning that it may “throw cold water” on Japan-South Korean relations.

According to Nikkei, the Moon administration dismissed Japan’s concern, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying yesterday: “Our government’s position is that efforts will continue to be made to ensure that the comfort women issue becomes a historical lesson irrespective of the comfort women pact with Japan.”