Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary: "Cash Conversion of Seized Assets of Japanese Companies Causes Serious Situation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Kato Katsunobu, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Japanese government, stated on the 24th, "If the seized assets of Japanese companies are liquidated, it will cause a serious situation, so it must be avoided."

According to Yonhap News, at a regular press conference that afternoon, when asked about the Suga Yoshihide Cabinet's stance on the liquidation of Japanese company assets seized by Korean courts in relation to the forced labor compensation lawsuit during the Japanese colonial period, Kato responded accordingly.

Kato said, "The Japanese side has repeatedly and strongly pointed this out to the Korean side," adding, "We want to strongly demand that the Korean side present a solution promptly in the future." This is in the same context as when Prime Minister Suga, during his time as Chief Cabinet Secretary, claimed that the judicial procedures related to the Korean Supreme Court's ruling on forced labor victims clearly violated international law and insisted that the liquidation of Japanese companies' assets must be prevented.

The Japanese far-right newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported that during a phone conversation with President Moon Jae-in, Prime Minister Suga also demanded that the sale of the defendant company Nippon Steel's assets in Korea be blocked, saying, "We cannot leave this as it is," regarding the Korean Supreme Court's ruling on forced labor compensation during the Japanese colonial period.

The Japanese government has argued that the Korean Supreme Court's forced labor compensation ruling in October 2018 violates the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement and that the Korean government must rectify this breach of international law.