Tokyo lodges complaint with Seoul over S. Korean MP’s remarks on Japan’s emperor

Tokyo said on Tuesday it had lodged a complaint with Seoul and demanded an apology after a South Korean lawmaker said the Japanese emperor should apologize over the issue of “comfort women” who were used in military brothels. Relations between Japan and South Korea have soured because of an intensifying row over their wartime history. South Korean National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang said in an interview with Bloomberg last week that Japanese Emperor Akihito, “as the son of the main culprit of war crimes,” should apologize to women forced to work in Japan’s military brothels before he steps down at the end of April. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said in Tokyo on Tuesday that Moon’s comments were “extremely regrettable,” Reuters reported.