Ishiba, Lee to Announce Document on Social Issue Talks

Tokyo, Sept. 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung are expected to announce Tuesday a document pledging to launch intergovernmental talks on tackling shared social issues such as societal aging, it was learned Monday. The two leaders will meet in Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, in what is expected to be Ishiba’s last foreign trip before he steps down. The prime minister hopes to reaffirm the policy of developing a future-oriented relationship with Seoul and to pass this on to the next administration. South Korea faces social challenges common to Japan, also including population decline, low food self-sufficiency and frequent natural disasters. Particularly severe is the concentration of population in Seoul, with around half of the South Korean population living in the metropolitan capital region. Ishiba and Lee agreed at a meeting in August to establish a consultative framework for sharing knowledge and collaborating to find solutions to shared social issues. The Tuesday meeting between the two leaders “will be an important opportunity to discuss cooperation under the current strategic environment and further progress in bilateral relations, 60 years after the normalization of diplomatic ties,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference Monday. Ishiba’s trip is part of the two countries’ “shuttle diplomacy,” or mutual visits by their leaders to each other’s countries. It will be the third meeting between Ishiba and Lee, and the first visit by a Japanese prime minister to a South Korean region outside Seoul since former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visit to Jeju Island in 2004. In addition to common social issues, the two leaders are expected to agree on joint work to tackle issues linked to North Korea, such as its abductions of Japanese nationals and its nuclear and missile development programs, even after the upcoming change in Japan’s leadership. They are also seen discussing expanded cooperation, including with the United States. Furthermore, the two sides are expected to confirm their collaboration ahead of a summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju, eastern South Korea, that will open at the end of October. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]