Japanese, S. Korean Governors Affirm Importance of Cooperation

Incheon, South Korea, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese and South Korean governors have affirmed the importance of working together in addressing an array of issues of mutual concern. At a joint meeting of Japan’s National Governors’ Association and the Governors Association of the Republic of Korea in Incheon, northwestern South Korea, on Wednesday, participants talked about measures to rev up the economy and deal with falling populations. Summing up the discussions, they adopted a joint statement stressing the need to build a model of substantive and sustainable cooperation to tackle common challenges. From Japan, Shuichi Abe, governor of the central prefecture of Nagano and president of the Japanese association, and eight others attended the meeting. Noting that the two sides share the recognition about problems facing Japan and South Korea, Abe said, “I’m confident that we can advance efforts for a new era through cooperation.” Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, who also serves as head of the South Korean governors association, said that creating a good future by working together is important for not only relations between local governments in South Korea and Japan but also the development of the two countries. The first meeting between Japanese and South Korean governors was held in 1999. The latest meeting was the eighth of its kind. The two sides agreed to hold the next meeting in Japan in 2027. In addition to Abe, the governors of the northeastern prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi, the central prefecture of Yamanashi, the western prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima and Tokushima, and the southwestern prefectures of Fukuoka and Kumamoto took part in Wednesday’s meeting from Japan. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]