Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has again urged South Korea to present solutions to issues of bilateral conflict.

Speaking at the opening of the Diet's regular session on Monday, the Japanese leader said relations with South Korea are in a grave state and vowed to continue to demand an appropriate response from Seoul based on Tokyo's consistent stance so that relations can be restored. 

He's believed to be referring to the long-standing issues of wartime forced labor and sex slavery including a recent South Korean court ruling that ordered the Japanese government to compensate 12 sex slavery victims.

Suga's latest remark implies Tokyo's existing stance remains unchanged as the country has argued that wartime issues were resolved through a 1965 treaty on colonial matters and a 2015 agreement that settled the sex slavery issue in particular.

In the Monday speech, the prime minister called South Korea "an important neighbor," a notch down from his earlier description as a "very important neighbor" last October.

He also said the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea is one of the most pressing tasks and pledged all-out efforts in cooperation with concerned nations including the U.S. 

Suga added he is still willing to meet with the North Korean leader with no conditions attached.