Visiting Japan lawmaker stresses importance of S. Korea-Japan ties
Foreign affairsAug 9, 2013
A visiting Japanese ruling-party lawmaker stressed Friday the importance of keeping friendly ties with South Korea as the two neighbors have been facing unusually icy relations over historical issues. "Close neighbors are more important than distant relatives,"Yoshitada Kounoike from the Japan's Liberal Democratic Party cited a Japanese proverb in a lunch meeting with South Korean lawmakers held in the local parliament building in Yeouido, western Seoul. The proverb was picked as Kounoike em