Defense Ministers of Japan, S. Korea Enjoy Friendly Game of Table Tennis; Rally Without Trying to Win Sets Precedent for Relations

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:53 JST, January 31, 2026

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-back enjoyed a friendly game of table tennis after talks at the Maritime Defense Force’s Yokosuka base on Friday.

Koizumi proposed the session knowing that Ahn loves playing table tennis.

The two defense ministers took off their jackets and neckties and headed over to the ping-pong table, where they worked together to keep a rally going for more than 15 shots.

“We kept the rally going without aiming to win for ourselves,” Koizumi said. “It set a precedent for positively maintaining the Japan-South Korean defense cooperation.”