[ti:Japan Says Export Step Not Aimed at Hurting S. Korea] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.01]Japan said Thursday it has given an export permit for a shipment of materials headed for the South Korean semiconductor industry. [00:13.35]The Japanese government hopes the approval will show that the country is not banning exports to South Korea because of a historical dispute between the sides. [00:28.44]Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko announced the approval, saying that officials decided the shipment did not raise security concerns. [00:41.77]The process of approving export permits "is not arbitrary," Seko told reporters. "The step we took recently is not an export ban." [00:55.72]Last month, Japan placed export controls on three important materials used by South Korea's semiconductor industry. [01:07.80]South Korea considers the export controls an attack on the country's most important industry. [01:16.76]In addition, Japan's Cabinet decided to remove South Korea from a list of countries that have preferred trade status. [01:27.98]The products of nations that have preferred trade status move easily across borders. [01:35.68]The decision became official Wednesday when the government published it. [01:42.10]The measure will take effect on August 28. [01:46.82]A Japanese government spokesman denied Wednesday that the trade decisions were a retaliatory move. [01:56.96]The two countries are arguing over South Korean court rulings that order Japanese companies to pay money to Korean laborers forced to work during World War II. [02:13.19]Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. [02:21.58]The country says that a 1965 agreement, which normalized relations between the two countries, settled any money issues. [02:33.44]Japan's chief Cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said Wednesday that the measures are related to Japan's national security concerns. [02:47.05]He denied that the move was in answer to Japan's anger over the court rulings. [02:54.11]He called the measures "necessary...from a national security point of view." [03:01.31]Suga also said, "It was not intended to affect Japan-South Korea relations." [03:10.62]Japanese officials have said that South Korea's export control system and operation is not of the highest possible quality. [03:22.48]Because of this, they say, the country can no longer have preferred trade status. [03:29.77]Suga said the measure puts South Korea back to normal status. [03:37.55]"It's not an export ban," he added. [03:41.76]Japanese officials have denied South Korea's charge that they are using trade to answer the court rulings. [03:51.25]But many South Koreans do not believe Japan is being truthful. [03:57.43]Japan also says South Korea violated international law by trying to force Japanese companies to compensate beyond the 1965 agreement. [04:12.27]Japan provided $500 million in loans and aid under that deal. [04:19.42]Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was recently asked about the possibility of meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in at upcoming international events. [04:34.44]He said the main cause of the problem between the two countries is the wartime compensation issue. [04:42.96]Observers say the conflict is preventing the two nations from cooperating on security issues. [04:51.07]These include efforts to get North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program. [04:57.73]Some critics also say the dispute is damaging Japan's image as an economic leader in Asia. [05:07.09]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM