Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has reportedly told the Wall Street Journal that Japan is holding informal talks with South Korea on the issue of sexual slavery of Korean women perpetrated by the Japanese military during World War Two.

Japan's Jiji Press says that during an interview with the U.S. daily, the prime minister said opinions were being exchanged behind the scenes to gather wisdom on the issue and made it clear that contacts were made with Seoul.

Noda added that efforts to use the Asian Women's Fund to compensate the Korean victims should be positively assessed. The Japanese government created the fund in 1995 based on civic donations.

However, from the inception, the Asian Women's Fund was blasted by South Korea as Tokyo's tactic to avoid its responsibility.