Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, during a visit to South Korea, paid his respects at the grave of Lee Soo-hyun, a student who was killed while trying to rescue a Japanese man from a subway train track in Tokyo 24 years ago.

Ishiba visited Lee's burial site in the southeastern city of Busan around 3 p.m. Tuesday before attending a summit with President Lee Jae Myung.

The Japanese leader also met with Shin Yoon-chan, the late student's mother and honorary chair of LSH Asia Scholarship Foundation, who expressed hope that the two countries would become close neighbors for the sake of the younger generation.

It is the first time a sitting Japanese prime minister has paid respects at Lee's grave, though former Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada visited in 2010, and former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio followed Hatoyama in 2018.

Lee's righteous act, which has become a symbol of the two countries' friendly ties, has helped ease animosity between the people of both nations over unresolved historical issues.