Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper has called on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration to express regret over the country's past doings in order to improve relations with South Korea.

In an op-ed Saturday, the daily said that Korea should not be given the cold shoulder. It said the Abe administration is regarded as being passive in reflecting on Japan's past and there lies the indelible distrust Korea has toward Japan.

The op-ed said the Abe government must again clarify its historical views related to the Korean Peninsula in an effort to defuse this distrust.

The commentary went on to propose holding talks for the Japanese government to express its view on history and also at the same time to discuss a renewed assessment by the Seoul government regarding the two countries' 2015 agreement on the wartime sex slavery issue.

The newspaper cited past statements issued by top Japanese officials in 1993 and 2010 that acknowledged the forced nature of the sexual enslavement and apologized for Japan's colonial rule of Korea.

The paper said that if Prime Minister Abe demonstrates an attitude respectful of these past statements, Tokyo can be more persuasive in demanding Seoul to keep its promises.