Ex-Japanese prime minister calls for return of South Korea to 'white list'

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Japan's decision to remove South Korea from its "white list" of preferred trading partners is being met with opposition in Tokyo.

Japanese politicians who favor healthy ties with Seoul criticized the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for going ahead with the delisting of South Korea, a move, they say, will "do more harm than good," South Korean television network MBC reported Wednesday.

Yukio Hatoyama, a former prime minister, said the removal that went into effect Wednesday at midnight is bad policy.

"We must return South Korea to the white list," Hatoyama said, during a parliamentary debate. "This conflict between Japan and Korea will do more harm than good."

Japan has never provided specific details on the reasons for the white list removal. In July Abe accused South Korea of violating North Korea sanctions -- but that claim is no longer part of official Japanese statements.

Hatoyama is a progressive politician of the now dissolved Democratic Party of Japan. Following his term as prime minister, Hatoyama made headlines when he visited Seodaemun Prison History Hall in Seoul in 2015, and knelt in front of a memorial to victims of Japanese colonial rule.

On Wednesday Hatoyama said Japan should withdraw its export control measures by returning Korea to the white list. Poor relations with Korea will bring a "hundred harms" to the Japanese people with "no single benefit" for anyone, Hatoyama said.

The former prime minister also criticized the Abe administration's position on the 1965 Japan-Korea Treaty. Tokyo has said the issue of compensation for wartime forced laborers was "settled" through the treaty.

Hatoyama said the 1965 treaty does not preclude individuals from filing private claims, citing a 1991 statement from the director of the Japanese foreign ministry's treaties bureau.

The 1965 treaty was also mentioned on Tuesday.

The Mainichi Shimbun reported Foreign Minister Taro Kono said the South Korean government harbors unrealistic expectations.

"If South Korea wishes to change history, they need to know that is impossible," Kono said, according to the report.

The top Japanese diplomat also said the 1965 Treaty is the "most important" agreement in bilateral relations.