CONTINUED BOYCOTTS AGAINST JAPAN

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Amid mounting anti-Japanese sentiment and expanding boycotts of Japanese products, an increasing number of South Korean local governments are canceling their scheduled visits to Japan. Here's more

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​The city of Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi-do Province recently canceled a visit to its Japanese sister city, slated for July 27. The city's 70-member delegation was scheduled to make a four-day visit to Shibata, Japan to promote exchanges in the sports sector. However, the Uijeongbu city government has canceled the plan in consideration of escalating anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea.

[Soundbite] PARK JAE-BEOM(UIJEONGBU CITY GOVERNMENT) : "The city government made the decision in discussions with the sports committee, as it would be inappropriate for us to visit a Japanese sister city when the central government is taking the issue very seriously."

The Suwon city government has also decided not to attend a ceremony celebrating the 30th anniversary of establishing sisterhood ties with Asahikawa in Hokkaido, which was scheduled to take place in the Japanese city on August 2.

[Soundbite] KIM KYUNG-TAE(SUWON CITY GOVERNMENT) : "The city government has decided to postpone the visit in consideration of the strained ties between South Korea and Japan and the anti-Japanese sentiment."

Goyang City in Gyeonggi-do Province has scrapped all plans to visit Japanese public agencies and hold training programs in Japan in September and November. More cities in Gyeonggi-do Province, such as Paju, Yangju, Gwangmyeong and Dongducheon, have made similar decisions. Local governments in other regions are moving to follow suit, saying that it would be undesirable to turn a blind eye to public sentiment under the current situation. However, these local governments are hoping that relations between the two countries will quickly improve, leading to the early resumption of the local government-level exchanges.