Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will attempt to improve strained ties with South Korea when he arrives in Seoul on Monday, but the visit is likely to be more difficult than his trip to China last week because of anger among many Koreans and a fishing dispute that has again flared up.
Before meeting President Kim Dae Jung, Koizumi will visit a park dedicated to political prisoners incarcerated for their involvement in anti-Japanese resistance during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
During the visit, the first by a Japanese prime minister, Koizumi will speak about his views of history and is expected to apologize for the years of colonization and Japan's harsh treatment of Korean people.