Photo South Korea delivers slap to Japan via Trump dinner

U.S. President Donald Trump met with comfort woman survivor Lee Yong-su during a state banquet held at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

Tuesday’s state banquet for U.S. President Donald Trump has created a stir in Japan over controversial issues plaguing Tokyo’s relationship with South Korea.

Trump was made aware of the wartime “comfort women” issue during the banquet after Cheong Wa Dae invited Lee Yong-soo, 88, who was forced into sexual slavery in a Japanese military brothel during World War II.

And special shrimp caught in waters off South Korea’s Dokdo Island was served to Trump, further riling the Japanese. Japan claims Dokdo as its territory.

"Dokdo Shrimp" served at the state dinner for U.S. President Donald Trump. / Yonhap

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo Tuesday that it is important to avoid any action that would have a negative impact on relations between Japan, South Korea and the U.S.

Suga also said that Japan and South Korea had reached an agreement on the comfort women issue in 2015 and the Japanese government had made its position on the issue clear to South Korea through diplomatic channels.

Japanese television network Fuji TV reported on the “Dokdo shrimps,” saying South Korea had tried to emphasize to the U.S. that Dokdo is South Korean territory.

Japanese daily newspaper Sankei Shimbun also reported that Tuesday’s banquet was “anti-Japanese” and the South Korean government had “poured cold water on the relationship between Japan and the U.S.” by bringing up controversial issues between South Korea and Japan.

However, a Cheong Wa Dae official said President Moon Jae-in had to raise the controversial issues, including comfort women, because Trump visited Japan first.

“We think President Moon would like Trump to have a balanced perspective on these issues,” the official said.