Governor Yamamoto received a request for a meeting from South Korea's ambassador to Japan this month regarding the prefecture's removal in January of this year of a memorial monument for Korean workers mobilized during the war that was located in a prefectural park in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture. There was an idea to respond to this.
The prefectural government has granted a renewal to a citizen's group to install a memorial monument for Korean workers in Gunma no Mori, a prefectural park in Takasaki City, because the prefecture had violated conditions such as not holding political events. After going through a court process, it was removed on behalf of the organization that was set up in January this year.
Regarding this matter, Governor Yamamoto announced at a press conference on the 28th that he had received a letter from South Korea's ambassador to Japan on the 22nd of this month requesting a meeting, saying, ``I would like to discuss the future of Japan and South Korea.'' He expressed his intention to meet with the Ambassador after obtaining the consent of the Ambassador.
Governor Yamamoto said, ``I would like to explain the prefecture's position that there was a violation of the rules, not that there was a problem with the memorial monument itself, and that we took the necessary measures in accordance with the outcome of the court case.''
On the other hand, when asked by a reporter whether he had received a request to meet with the South Korean embassy before the demolition work, he said, ``There was no official contact.''