TOKYO/SEOUL, The Japanese government summoned Seoul's top envoy to Tokyo on Wednesday to lodge a protest after the bereaved family of a South Korean victim of Japan's wartime forced labor received compensation from Hitachi Zosen Corp. earlier this week. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated during a press briefing that Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano called in South Korean Ambassador Yun Duk-min over the issue. Okano expressed deep regrets over the Korean family's withdrawal of the deposit from the Japanese firm and stressed that the decision was based on a ruling that "blatantly contradicts" the 1965 agreement and unfairly disadvantages Japanese companies, according to Hayashi. An official at the Seoul foreign ministry said the two countries continue to maintain close communication on pending bilateral issues. On Tuesday, the family withdrew 60 million won (US$44,830) from the Seoul Central District Court, which was earlier deposited by Hitachi Zosen as a kind of collateral, acco rding to their lawyer. The payment came after the Supreme Court last December upheld an appeals court's ruling that ordered the Japanese company to pay 50 million won and delay interest for damages suffered by the victim, surnamed Lee, from forced labor at its shipyard during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. Hitachi made the monetary deposit soon after the Seoul High Court made a decision to the same effect of a decision by the Supreme Court in January 2019. It was the first and only case in which a Japanese company involved in wartime forced labor has paid money to a South Korean court. Source: Yonhap News Agency