Japan's opposition Democratic Party President Ichiro Ozawa has floated the idea of buying South Korea's Jeju Island on the strength of the yen's rise against other currencies, Japan's news outlets reported, quoting a former chief of Japan's largest labor organization.
''Let's buy Jeju Island given the yen's current strength,'' Ozawa told Kiyoshi Sasamori, former president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, in February, according to Sasamori.
Sasamori said he was asked by Ozawa in their February meeting how he feels about real estate on Jeju Island being bought by South Korean capital.
Sasamori replied he is very worried about the trend and Ozawa then mentioned the idea of buying South Korea's Jeju Island, according to Sasamori.
Jeju, South Korea's biggest and southernmost island, is located some 150 kilometers south of the Korean Peninsula and 255 km from Tsushima, Japan's nearest island.
The remarks by Ozawa whose party is expected to win the forthcoming Japanese election could spark a diplomatic friction between South Korea and Japan, analysts say.