South Korean court issues arrest warrant for Japanese politico

Seoul, June 30 (IANS) A South Korean court Monday issued an arrest warrant against a right-wing Japanese politician accused of defaming victims of sexual enslavement during Japan's colonial rule.

The warrant was issued against Nobuyuki Suzuki, 49, as he has refused to be arraigned in the court since September 2013 when it ordered he be tried for defamation, Xinhua reported.

Suzuki was indicted in June 2012 when he put up a wooden stake with the phrase "Takeshima is a Japanese territory" beside the bronze statue of a young girl symbolizing the "comfort women" or Korean women coerced into sex slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II

The bronze figure was set up in 2011 in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to commemorate the "comfort women".

Takeshima, called Dokdo in South Korea, is a group of islands lying halfway between South Korea and Japan, which have for been disputed between the two countries.

The court plans to ask prosecutors to put Suzuki on the wanted list.