Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe to attend Pyeongchang Olympics in RoK

Mr. Shinzo Abe’s decision came after reports he would not attend due to a dispute over “comfort women” forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels.

“The two governments of Japan and the RoK have discussed Prime Minister Abe’s visiting the RoK for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and welcome Japan’s decision to officially announce the visit,” RoK’s President Moon Jae-in’s Blue House said in a statement ahead of Abe’s remarks to reporters.

PM Abe addressed the Japanese parliament saying he would use the Olympics trip to reiterate support for the ongoing international pressure campaign against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

“If circumstances allow, I am thinking of attending the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics,” Mr. Shinzo Abe told a group of reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also said the prime minister’s decision reflected his desire to cooperate for the success of a “festival for peace and sports” that will be held in the same Asian region as Tokyo, which will host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2020./.