Japan’s PM Ishiba Plans to Visit S. Korea in January; Trip Will Be His 1st Foreign Visit for Bilateral Diplomacy

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:06 JST, November 28, 2024

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is planning to visit South Korea in January to meet President Yoon Suk Yeol, according to government sources. Ishiba intends to call on Yoon to also visit Japan soon as a way of boosting reciprocal visits between the two leaders to solidify the trend toward improved bilateral relations.

As next year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of relations between Japan and South Korea, Ishiba aims to strengthen cooperation in a wide range of fields, including private-sector exchanges.

The most likely time for the meeting is early January, before the ordinary Diet session convenes, the sources said Wednesday. This would be his first visit to a foreign country for the purpose of bilateral diplomacy — excluding visits for international conferences — signaling the importance he places on South Korea.

The agenda for the summit meeting is expected to include measures to expand defense cooperation between the two countries in light of the new military coordination between Russia and North Korea and the increasing activities of the Chinese military. The leaders are also expected to affirm the trilateral unity of Japan, South Korea and the United States in anticipation of the inauguration of the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.

In South Korea, there is a simmering dissatisfaction that Yoon, who emphasizes diplomacy with Japan, is making concessions to Japan on the history issue. The two leaders are expected to exchange views on measures to promote personal and cultural exchanges between the two countries on the occasion of the 60th anniversary so that both nations’ citizens can feel the improvement in relations.

The prime minister met Joo Ho-young, chairman of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary Federation, at the Prime Minister’s Office Wednesday and signaled his desire to strengthen relations between the two countries. Referring to the absence of the South Korean side from a memorial ceremony at the Sado Island Gold Mines World Cultural Heritage site in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, Joo quoted Ishiba as saying, “Although we have different ways of thinking, we must develop the Japan-South Korea relationship with an eye on the future.”