Hatoyama Yukio (鳩山由紀夫), the Former Prime Minister of Japan, said that Japan must take a position of unlimited responsibility on the issue of comfort women and forced labor in order to improve Korea-Japan relations.

Former Prime Minister Hatoyama, who came to Gwangju at the invitation of CNU, gave a special lecture on the topic of the “Future of East Asia Based on Friendship” at the Yongbong Forum, which was held at CNU at 4:00 p.m. on October 6 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of CNU.

Former Prime Minister Hatoyama also said, "The deterioration of Korea-Japan relations is a purely political issue. Those who lost the war (Japan) have to keep asking for forgiveness from victims of the war, who have been hurt by the misery the war spread until they forgive and declare that no more apology is needed. That is when the offender can stop apologizing."

Especially on the issue of comfort women during the war, former Prime Minister Hatoyama said, “I hope that the Japanese government will continue to apologize from a position of sincerity and unlimited responsibility for the comfort women victims, so that the honor of each and every comfort women victim will be restored. Also, support from both countries should be provided so that their wounds can be healed.” 

In addition, regarding the issue of forced labor, former Prime Minister Hatoyama said, “The Japanese government should maintain the position, as it made an official response that an individual’s claim to human rights is not extinguished in the sense of domestic law, and an individual’s right to compensation for damages cannot be demolished by an agreement or treaty between countries according to international human rights law.”

Regarding North Korea's nuclear issue, former Prime Minister Hatoyama said, "It is important to improve the issues between South Korea and Japan as soon as possible and ask the US to engage in dialogue with North Korea. If we do that and the US government officially declares that it would not use nuclear weapons first, then North Korea-US relations will advance significantly.” 

Finally, former Prime Minister Hatoyama said, “There are many issues that threaten peace in the world, along with the North Korean issue. To resolve those problems, the East Asian Association, centering on Korea, China, and Japan, is necessary to establish.”

The Yongbong Forum was attended in person by about 400 students, citizens, and faculty members, and more than 300 people accessing in real-time streaming on the YouTube live broadcast channel.