Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Seoul and Tokyo should carve out a relationship based on mutual trust. 

According to Japan’s Jiji Press, Shizuka Kamei, the former Japanese minister for financial services and postal reform, told reporters on Monday that Abe made the remark in a meeting earlier in the day. 

Kamei said he advised Abe against making current conflicts with Seoul worse, including the South Korean court decisions on Japan’s wartime forced labor. 

Kyodo News said Kamei briefed Abe on what he discussed with a South Korean official and his plan to visit South Korea in the near future. 

Kamei along with former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara met with Abe at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo.