Photo: EPA

According to Kyodo news, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday asked special envoy Fukushiro Nukaga to tell South Korean President-elect Park Geun Hye that Japan sees its relations with South Korea as extremely vital and that “South Korea is Japan's most important neighbor”. Nukaga, former finance minister and secretary general of the Japan-South Korea lawmakers' league, will visit Park on Friday. Prime Minister Abe said he wants to make a good start in relations with South Korea, noting that the two countries share various values.