Japan Lawmaker Group Head, S. Korean Pres. Reaffirm Cooperation

Seoul, June 27 (Jiji Press)–The chief of a league of Japanese lawmakers working to promote relations with South Korea have agreed with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in response to the current severe international situation. In a meeting held at the Blue House presidential office in Seoul on Friday, former Japanese internal affairs minister Ryota Takeda, who heads the lawmakers group, and Lee also reaffirmed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy between the two nations. It was Takeda’s first visit to South Korea since he became head of the group in March. Improvements in the South Korea-Japan relationship are beneficial to both countries amid the complex and fluid international situation, Lee said. “What Japan and South Korea have to do is call on middle powers to unite in order to stabilize the international order,” said Takeda, a member of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Japan’s parliament, from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. “Exchanges between Japan and South Korea are necessary in a wide range of fields, including responses to issues common to our countries, such as security, rare earth minerals and their supply chains, and population declines,” Takeda told reporters after the meeting. “I would like to facilitate close communication at various levels (with South Korea).” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]