Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday welcomed the election of Yoon Suk-yeol as South Korea's next president and said he hoped to work closely with him to rebuild healthier ties with its neighbour.
"I offer my heartfelt congratulations on his election," Kishida told reporters.
"Especially now as the international community faces major change, healthy Japan-South Korea relations are ... indispensable," he said, adding that current "fraught" ties needed to improve.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
