According to the survey, 78 percent in the Philippines have a positive view of the US as of this spring, down from 92 percent who expressed positive sentiments in 2015

He said that Japan should handle the issue properly and in a responsible way to gain trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community

Winston Peters, the party chief of the New Zealand First Party, however, refused to say which party he would side with

Mike Honda, a former member of the US House of Representatives, who as the chief sponsor of a July 2007 House resolution urged Japan to acknowledge and accept responsibility for the sexual exploitation of "comfort women," joined elected officials at the event to greet Lee and denounce those who deny history

Similarly, the annual per capita income in impoverished rural areas has grown to 10