Education Minister Hirofumi Nakasone arrived in Seoul on Saturday to become the first in his post to visit South Korea since the end of World War II.
Nakasone inspected the construction of a stadium for the 2002 World Cup soccer finals, to be jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea, and visited Kyung Hee University on the first day of his three-day visit.
The stadium, the construction of which is about one-third complete, will have a capacity of about 64,000 and be equipped with cultural facilities and shops.
Nakasone wrote in the guest book, "This stadium will remain forever as a symbol of sports exchanges between Japan and South Korea."