Japan has expressed regret after South Korea officially removed the country from its whitelist of most trusted trading partners. 

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga delivered Tokyo’s critical views of Seoul’s move on Wednesday, arguing that South Korea has not properly responded to Japan’s request to reveal reasons behind the whitelist removal and details of the policy.  

Suga refuted Seoul’s official explanation over the measure and asserted that Japan poses no threat to South Korea’s security, adding that Tokyo will try to find out the “true” motives behind the move. 

The Japanese government said that if the South Korean measure is a response to Japan’s own trade restrictions, it will amount to a violation of World Trade Organization(WTO) rules.