Kishida talks with ROK President-elect Yoon

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:33 JST, March 11, 2022

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed with South Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol in a telephone conversation Friday morning that the two countries would work together to improve their relations. They also agreed to hold face-to-face talks as soon as possible.

Kishida told media after talking with Yoon that he told the next president, “We need to improve the friendly and cooperative relations that Japan and South Korea have established since the normalization of diplomatic relations.”

In response, Yoon, from the conservative People Power Party, his country’s main opposition party, said South Korea “attaches great importance to the Japan-South Korea relationship and will work together to improve it.”

Asked if the so-called comfort women issue ever became a topic of their conversation, Kishida refrained from giving any detailed comments about his diplomatic talks with Yoon.