Japan and South Korea have reached an agreement to resolve their longstanding dispute over Korean sex slaves during the Second World War.
The issue of so-called "comfort women," women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during the war, has long plagued relations between the two countries.
The landmark agreement signals a turning point in their relationship, but not everyone is satisfied with the outcome.
Abbie O'Brien reports.
For 70 years, the roughly 200,000 so-called comfort women, sexually enslaved by Japan during World War Two, have been waiting for what they considered a proper apology.
Now they have one.
In what is seen by many in South Korea as a historic move, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has apologised for the legacy of the country's wartime past.
Mr Abe has framed it as more of an ongoing apology.
(Translated) "We have been expressing our feelings of remorse and apology on this issue as the previous governments have, and such position will not be changed. From today, Japan and South Korea will enter into a new era. I hope this agreement will serve as a momentum for Japan and South Korea."
Japan and South Korea have been tussling over the issue of the comfort women for decades.
But in a year that marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, the governments have now tried to put an end to the enduring tensions between the two countries.
Japan has promised $11.4 million to set up a foundation supporting the hundreds of thousands of former sex slaves, who were mostly Korean.
South Korean president Park Geaun-Hye has supported the move.
(Translated) "In order to restore the dignity and regain the impaired reputation of the comfort women as well as heal their wounded hearts through the agreement, I think it's most important that the Japanese government swiftly and faithfully carry out the measures under this deal."
A meeting between the foreign ministers of the two nations in Seoul championed the possible end to the division over the issue.
Many Japanese officials believed South Korea had been using the issue for domestic political gain despite past steps by Japan.
Japan, then, has been urging South Korea to state its intention to lay the issue to rest.
But South Korea wanted Japan to demonstrate more concrete action towards taking responsibility for the women's suffering.
South Korean foreign minister Yun Byung-se says his country will consider the matter resolved if Japan fulfils its pledge.
(Translated)"South Korea confirms, together with Japan, that the issue is resolved finally and irreversibly with this announcement, on the premise that the Japanese government will steadily implement the measures."
But not all are satisfied with the outcome.
Dozens of South Korean civil society members have gathered outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, calling on the Japanese government to do more.
The organiser of the rally, Cho Seung-hyun, says the issue cannot be solved with money.
(Translated) "The resolution of the issue of Japan forcing South Korean women into sex slavery cannot only depend on money. It should be based on the premise of state-level and legal ground. Therefore, we are against the Japan solution of setting up a foundation. Japan should perform its responsibilities at a state level and on legal ground."
The United States has welcomed the move.
It has wanted to see improved relations between its two major Asian allies in an era of an increasingly assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea.
