Acting President Goh Kun has said political leaders of South Korea and Japan should not allow historical issues to hurt the feelings of the two peoples.

Goh made his comments Monday in a meeting with former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto after attending the opening ceremony of the Global Ministerial Environment Forum and the Special Session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Program underway in Jeju Island.

Goh's comments are seen as an indirect rebuke of recent controversial remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. On Saturday, Koizumi said he could not understand why South Korea and China denounce his annual pilgrimage to the Yasukuni shrine.

Hashimoto replied that he is well aware of the controversy and that the younger generation should not be held responsible for what their fathers and grandfathers did.