Leaders of Japan and South Korea discuss economic and regional challenges at the summit.
Nara, Japan — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to step up cooperation between the neighbours, whose relations are sometimes strained as they both face growing uncertainty and regional challenges.
“I believe that cooperation between Korea and Japan is more important now than ever, as we continue to move toward a new, better future amid this complex, unstable international system,” Lee said at the start of the summit on Tuesday.
Takaichi said he reiterated his determination to further improve Japan’s relations with South Korea “because I believe the two countries should cooperate and contribute to stability in the region.”
“This year, I will raise Japan-South Korea relations to an even higher level.”
Takachi said, adding that his goal is to secure stable ties with Seoul while Tokyo grapples with a worsening dispute with China.
This meeting could lead to a political victory as Takaichi seeks to increase his power. A few months after taking office, he enjoys high approval ratings, but his party has a majority in only one of the two houses of parliament. There is growing speculation that she is planning a snap election in the hope of gaining more seats.
Takaichi is hosting Lee in his hometown of Nara, an ancient capital with precious deer and a centuries-old Buddhist temple in Gyeongju, South Korea, following Lee’s request during the October APEC meeting.
Nara, a centre of cultural exchange between the Korean Peninsula and Japan in ancient times, “holds a special meaning at a time when Korea-Japan exchanges are more important than ever,” Lee said.
Takachi will take Lee on Wednesday on a tour of Horyu Temple, which includes buildings dating back to the late 7th or early 8th century. They are among the oldest surviving wooden architecture in the world and reflect Japan’s adoption of Buddhism through the Korean Peninsula. Lee will also meet South Korean residents in Japan before returning home in the afternoon.
Although Japan’s cultural, religious, and political ties with the Korean Peninsula are ancient, their relations have faced repeated disruptions in modern times. Japan’s brutal colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945 has given rise to numerous controversies.
Takaichi was in Nara on Monday for preparations and posted on social media.
The Japanese prime minister faces rising trade and political tensions with China over comments he made about Taiwan that angered Beijing just days after he took office. Takaichi said potential Chinese military action against Taiwan, the island democracy that Beijing claims as its own, could justify Japanese intervention.
Tuesday’s meeting was aimed at focusing on trade and the challenges facing China and North Korea, as well as efforts to deepen trust between the two countries.
Japan and South Korea, both key US allies, also have to figure out how to deal with President Donald Trump’s unpredictable diplomacy, and US pressure on both countries is increasing defence spending.
Li was in Beijing for talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week, as China steps up economic and political pressure against Japan and seeks rapprochement with Seoul. During the visit, the South Korean leader told reporters that relations with Japan are as important as those with China, but South Korea’s ability to broker reconciliation among its neighbours is limited.
Lee, in an interview with Japan’s NHK television on Monday, noted his interest in securing Japanese support for South Korea’s participation in the 12-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. He said this would include South Korea lifting a ban on imports from Fukushima and surrounding Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 earthquake. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and its consequences may take time to alleviate health concerns among South Koreans.
Lee also said his country wants to cooperate with Japan on security under a trilateral framework that also includes the US, but “what is critical is the issue of deep mutual trust.”
Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have begun to improve. In recent years, we have faced common challenges, such as growing China-US competition and North Korea’s nuclear program.
There were initial concerns about Takaichi’s ability to work with Lee, driven by his reputation as a security hawk and the perception by some that the leftist South Korean leader would lean toward North Korea and China. But so far, both the leaders have tried to put aside their differences.
Although the two leaders are expected to avoid discussing their historical disputes, media reports say they may discuss possible humanitarian cooperation in the ongoing effort to recover the remains. In western Japan, a former marine mining site was the location of an accident in 1942 that killed 180 workers, mostly Korean forced labourers.
___
Hyung-Jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report. Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
