Tokyo has expressed regret after the metropolitan councils of South Korea’s two largest cities passed ordinances against Japanese firms that engaged in wartime forced labor. 

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed the opinion in a regular media briefing on Friday, calling the ordinances “unfair” moves that could put certain Japanese firms at an economic disadvantage. 

Arguing that the Japanese government repeatedly delivered its concerns over related issues to the South Korean government through diplomatic channels, Suga said Tokyo will demand a “wise response” from Seoul. 

Earlier in the day, the metropolitan councils of Seoul and Busan passed ordinances that aim to limit the discretion of the respective city governments in purchasing goods from Japanese companies implicated in wartime forced labor.