FOCUS: Japan, S. Korea Leaders Promote Ties thru Hometown Visits

Andong, South Korea, May 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung have highlighted through their trips to each other’s hometown improved bilateral ties amid the challenging security environment. On Tuesday, Takaichi visited the city of Andong in North Gyeongsang Province, which is Lee’s hometown, and held a bilateral summit with the South Korean leader. This came after Lee visited Takaichi’s home prefecture of Nara in western Japan in January. Japan-South Korea relations soured to the worst level since World War II after South Korea’s Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation for wartime labor provided by Koreans. Bilateral ties improved under Lee’s predecessor, Yoon Suk-yeol, a conservative, who announced a solution to the issue in 2023. Many were initially concerned about a possible diplomatic fallout from Lee, a reformist, becoming South Korea’s president, given that he had repeatedly criticized Japan in the past. After taking office in June 2025, however, Lee stopped short of making statements on thorny issues concerning history. On her part, Takaichi, who became prime minister in October last year, opted to send a parliamentary vice minister, not a cabinet minister, to this year’s annual Takeshima Day ceremony in Shimane Prefecture, western Japan, in February. The Sea of Japan islands of Takeshima, called Dokdo in South Korea, are under the effective control of South Korea and claimed by Japan. She has also refrained from visiting Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, likely out of consideration for South Korea and others. The Shinto shrine honors Japanese Class-A war criminals among the war dead and is therefore regarded as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism by countries including South Korea and China. Tuesday’s summit was the fourth face-to-face meeting between Takaichi and Lee since the inauguration of the Japanese leader, with Takaichi and Lee focusing on so-called shuttle diplomacy, or mutual visits by the leaders of Japan and South Korea to each other’s country. According to a Japanese Foreign Ministry source, Takaichi, when presented with a schedule proposal for a South Korea trip, said, “I’d like to go.” “The sooner the visit, the better it’ll be for shuttle diplomacy,” she said. Both leaders have been focusing their attention on improving ties due to their countries’ shared concerns over geopolitical risks. The security environment in East Asia is increasingly severe amid China’s hegemonic actions, North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, and Russia’s cooperation with the two countries. Although cooperation among Japan, the United States and South Korea is crucial, the diplomatic stance of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who advocates his “America First” policy, is inconsistent. Trump visited China for three days until Friday to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Takaichi was briefed on the U.S.-China summit over the phone by Trump shortly after the U.S. leader left Beijing for home, but the call lasted for only about 15 minutes. Lee held phone talks with Trump on Sunday. At a joint press conference held Tuesday to sum up their summit, Takaichi and Lee emphasized the importance of cooperation among their countries and the United States. Still, the two Asian nations have differing views on certain matters. The Japanese side aims to conclude an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, or ACSA, with South Korea to deepen security cooperation. Seoul, however, has remained reluctant, apparently because Lee’s supporters oppose the strengthening of cooperation between the South Korean military and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces due to Japan’s past colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Tokyo has shown consideration for South Korea over history-related issues, including making an announcement Monday, a day before the Takaichi-Lee summit, that DNA analyses will be conducted on human bones discovered at the Chosei undersea coal mine in the city of Ube in the western Japan prefecture of Yamaguchi. People from the Korean Peninsula were among those who worked at the coal mine during World War II. “Seeds of history-related issues still exist,” a Japanese government official said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]