Tokyo has reiterated its call for formal talks with Seoul after another lawsuit was filed in Seoul to seek compensation from Japanese companies for wartime forced labor. 

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during a regular media briefing on Thursday that Tokyo's request is based on a 1965 normalization treaty, and that it still believes Seoul will respond with sincerity. 

He said Japan takes it seriously that the South Korean government is not moving to correct what it claims is a violation of the treaty as the plaintiffs in the forced labor cases are moving to confiscate assets of Japanese companies. 

Suga refused to comment on what Japan’s next moves will be if the South Korean government continues to refuse requests for talks. 

Late last year, South Korea's Supreme Court ruled in favor of dozens of Korean forced labor victims against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation, now known as Nippon Steel Corporation. 

The plaintiffs in both cases filed suits to seek the seizure of the companies asset in South Korea, which were granted by district courts.